HOT NEWS! And yet another blow to the neo-theocrats at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture (a/k/a the Discoveroids), who are promoting their misleadingly named Academic Freedom Act in several states.
From the Tulsa World we have Henry vetoes ‘Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act’. That’s right, Curmudgeon fans. Governor Brad Henry had the stones to veto the thing. He’s a politician of uncommon good sense and integrity!
It’s a short article. Here’s one excerpt:
Henry said students are already allowed to express their faith through voluntary prayer and other activities. He said the legislation was well-intended, but vague and “may trigger a number of unintended consequences that actually impede rather than enhance such expression.”
Schools could be forced to provide equal time to fringe groups that masquerade as religions and advocate behaviors such as hate speech.
“Additionally, this bill would presumably require school officials to determine what constitutes legitimate religious expression, subjecting them to an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at the taxpayers’ expense,” Henry said.
The Discoveroids found fools in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, and Missouri to introduce such legislation, and it failed in those states. Similar bills are still pending in Louisiana and Michigan. Texas his similar problems with its state school board. It’s not over yet, but so far the forces of reason seem to be prevailing.
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Darwin Central » Blog Archive » Conservatives Confronting Creationism, continued. // 25-June-2008 at 12:27 am
[...] of such state legislation lately, but most of them mercifully were either DOA or, as in the case of Oklahoma’s recent bill, but few have sailed through with such ease, or are in such danger of becoming law of the land. [...]
Oklahoma Creationism: It’s Back! « The Sensuous Curmudgeon // 8-January-2009 at 6:04 am
[...] The bill is SB 320 (a Microsoft Word document). Brogdon co-sponsored a creationism bill last year, which passed, but it was vetoed by the governor. See: Oklahoma Creationist Bill — It’s Dead! [...]