On Wednesday, the Missouri House of Representatives held hearings on a proposed constitutional amendement to prohibit state courts from enforcing Sharia law. How did it go? Here’s Republican State Rep. Don Wells, who introduced the bill, via the Post-Dispatch:
“This is to protect the people of America,” Wells said of his bill.
He went on to compare Sharia law to a disease, like polio. Rep. Jason Kander, D-Kansas City, stopped him to confirm.
“Sharia law is like polio?” Kander asked.
“Absolutely, as far as I’m concerned in this country,” Wells responded.
It’s actually not a terrible analogy, but I’d tweak it a little bit: Sharia is a lot like polio in that it posesabsolutely no threat to the United States. Fixed.
To refresh your memory, when a similar bill was introduced earlier this month, its GOP sponsors, State Rep. Paul Curtman and Speaker of the House Stephen Tilley, held a press conference in which Curtmanfailed to offer any real-life examples that would actually justify the law:
“I don’t have the specifics with me right now but if you go to—the web address kind of escapes my mind right now. Any Google search on international law used in the state courts in the U.S. is going to turn up some cases for you.”
Former terrorist urges legislators to ban Sharia law in courts
JEFFERSON CITY – A former terrorist, Kalam Saleem, phoned in to a House committee today, urging legislators to ban Sharia law in state courts.
Saleem was formerly associated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization and later with Saddam Hussein, according to the biography he offered by phone to members of the House Judiciary Committee.
During the call, he offered support for a bill sponsored by Rep. Don Wells, R-Cabool, which proposes changing the state constitution to block courts from making decisions based on foreign laws – specifically Sharia law, the religious code of Islam.
Saleem, who now practices Christianity, said that Sharia law should not be allowed in state courts because it is restrictive and oppressive, and that it discriminates against women and homosexuals.
Wells took a similar stance, if a less subtle one: That Islamic law is a dangerous influence on secular judicial proceedings.
“This is to protect the people of America,” Wells said of his bill.
He went on to compare Sharia law to a disease, like polio. Rep. Jason Kander, D-Kansas City, stopped him to confirm.
“Sharia law is like polio?” Kander asked.
“Absolutely, as far as I’m concerned in this country,” Wells responded.
Kander, who spent time in Afghanistan gathering intelligence for the military, said he found that “offensive.”
Wells’ bill is one of two measures currently under consideration by the Judiciary Committee that would ban foreign laws in Missouri courts.
Another bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Pacific, does not address Sharia law by name, but would similarly prohibit courts from citing foreign laws in decisions.
Both Curtman and Wells classified their bills as preventative, and did not offer examples of any courts using Sharia or other foreign laws.
The move to ban foreign laws, Sharia or otherwise, has been controversial since it received unambiguous backing from House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, earlier this month.
“We believe that the laws of this country should trump any other laws regarding the citizens of our country within our borders,” Tilley said in a statement at the time.
That support from the top legislator in the House could propel the legislation forward, but the two bills would not move through committee to the full House until after legislative spring break at the earliest.
