Minnesota & West Virginia Creationist Bills Die

Creationist bill, road kill

There’s good news today, dear reader. Two more crazy creationist bills have gone down in defeat. The news comes from our friends at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), written by Glenn Branch, their Deputy Director. Let’s take them one at a time.

When the first bill was proposed a month ago, we wrote about it in New Minnesota Bill — Creationist, or Just Crazy? The thing was proposed by Glenn H. Gruenhagen, an insurance agent. His bill required teachers to explain “how sickness, disease, pain, suffering, and death are a consequence imposed by the Creator of complex living organisms.”

Impressive, huh? But according to NCSE: Minnesota’s bill requiring instruction about “the Creator” dies. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

Minnesota’s Senate File 517 — which would, if enacted, have require school districts in the state to “provide instruction to students in grades 9 to 12 exploring the contrast between the scientific facts on how sickness, disease, pain, suffering, and death relate to the existence of complex living organisms, and how sickness, disease, pain, suffering, and death are a consequence imposed by the Creator of complex living organisms” — died in committee on March 10, 2023, when a deadline for bills to pass committee in their house of origin passed.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! The stupid thing didn’t even make it out of committee, so the Senate never had a chance to vote on it.

Okay, let’s move on to the next one. The last time we wrote about it was West Virginia Senate Passes Creationism Bill. That piece of junk was Senate Bill 619, which would allow teachers in public schools to teach intelligent design, described in the bill as “a theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist.”

The crazy thing had passed the Senate with a 27 to 6 vote, and it looked like it might go all the way — but it didn’t. NCSE just posted West Virginia’s “intelligent design” bill dies. Here are some excerpts:

West Virginia’s Senate Bill 619 — which would, if enacted, have allowed “[t]eachers in public schools, including public charter schools, that include any one or more of grades Kindergarten through 12, [to] teach intelligent design as a theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist” — died when the legislature adjourned sine die at midnight, March 10, 2023.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Glenn Branch, tells us:

“The failure of this misguided bill is a victory for the integrity of science education in West Virginia, and I congratulate all the Mountaineers who worked to ensure that it failed,” commented NCSE’s Executive Director Ann Reid. “But the bill progressed too far and too fast for us to be complacent that there won’t be future attacks on evolution education.”

That’s pretty much the whole story — so far — for state legislation this year. But there are legislatures still in session, and there’s no shortage of idiotic legislators. One never knows what might happen tomorrow, so stay tuned to this blog!

Copyright © 2023. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

Creationist Legislation Fails in Utah and Oklahoma

Creationist bill, road kill

There’s some good creationist legislation news out there, so we’re compressing it into one merry post. All of this news comes from our friends at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), written by Glenn Branch, their Deputy Director. Let’s take them one at a time. First, NCSE posted Utah’s “controversial issues” bill dies. The last time we blogged about this one was a few weeks ago, in Three More States Consider Creationism Laws. Glenn says, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

Utah’s House Bill 441 — which, if enacted, might have had adverse consequences for science education in the Beehive State — died in committee on February 28, 2023, when a deadline for bills to pass committee in their house of origin passed.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! The crazy thing couldn’t even make it out of committee. Glenn says:

Section 2 of the bill would have required local education agencies in the state to develop a neutrality policy, which would, inter alia, prohibit their employees from “advocating for or promoting controversial issues; … asserting a personal belief as fact; or … presenting facts in a biased manner.”

The bill defined “controversial issue” as “a topic that is socially unresolved, generates highly divergent and contentious opinions, or is not age appropriate.” While no specific issues were described in the bill as controversial, evolution and climate change — though not scientifically controversial — are often regarded as socially controversial.

Stupid bill. Good thing it’s gone. The next one Glenn blogged about was Antiscience legislation in Oklahoma dies in committee. The last time we blogged about this one was a couple of months ago, in Oklahoma Creationist Legislation for 2023. Glenn tells us:

Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 140 (PDF), which have would empowered science denial in the classroom, died in committee on March 2, 2023, when the deadline for Senate bills to be reported from committee passed.

Hee hee — another one failed to make it out of committee. Glenn continues:

Styled “the Oklahoma Science Education Act,” the bill would have ostensibly provided Oklahoma’s teachers with the right to help students “understand, analyze, critique and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught,” while prohibiting state and local administrators from exercising supervisory responsibility. No particular theories were identified as controversial, but a string of similar bills in the Oklahoma legislature … which died in committee in the same year — were clearly aimed specifically at evolution.

Okay, that’s two down. Utah and Oklahoma. The West Virginia bill is still pending, so stay tuned to this blog!

Copyright © 2023. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

West Virginia Senate Passes Creationism Bill

Things are happening fast in West Virginia. It was only a few days ago that we posted West Virginia Wants Passage of Creationism Bill. That was when the state’s Senate Education Committee approved Senate Bill 619, which would allow teachers in public schools to teach intelligent design, described in the bill as “a theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist.”

Today our friends at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) have just posted “Intelligent design” bill passes West Virginia Senate. It was written by Glenn Branch, their Deputy Director. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

West Virginia’s Senate Bill 619 — which would, if enacted, allow “[t]eachers in public schools, including public charter schools, that include any one or more of grades Kindergarten through 12, [to] teach intelligent design as a theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist” — passed the Senate on a 27 to 6 vote on February 25, 2023, according (PDF) to the legislature’s website.

Wowie — the thing passed the Senate with a 27 to 6 vote. Very impressive! Then Glenn says:

Before the bill passed, Dale Lee, President of the West Virginia Education Association, described it as a “solution in search of a problem,” according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (February 25, 2023). He added, “We teach WV College and Career readiness standards” — which, like all state science standards across the country, include evolution but not creationism (including “intelligent design”).

Who cares what a guy like that says? Those West Virginia Senators want to teach The Truth™! After that, Glenn concludes his sombre post with this:

A columnist in Charleston’s MetroNews (February 24, 2023) previously, if unsuccessfully, reminded the legislature about the case law establishing the unconstitutionality of teaching creationism in the public schools, including Kitzmiller v. Dover and Edwards v. Aguillard, explaining that the government is not allowed “to instruct school children on a faith-based creation story and pass it off as science.”

Well, the thing isn’t law yet. We assume the bill now has to pass the state House, and then be signed by the governor. But at this point, things look rather grim. We shall see.

Copyright © 2023. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

West Virginia Wants Passage of Creationism Bill

A few days ago we brought you the news that Three More States Consider Creationism Laws. Since then, one of those states, West Virginia, has been getting a lot of news coverage because of its brilliant legislative activity.

The public broadcasting station in Charleston, West Virginia, gives us this headline: Senate Education Committee Discusses Intelligent Design, Promise PLUS, and it was written by Chris Schulz. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

The Senate Education Committee took up several bills Tuesday including Senate Bill 619, which would allow teachers in public schools to teach something called intelligent design. [Something called intelligent design? Hee hee!] The only definition of intelligent design provided in the bill appears in the enacting clause, simply stating it is “a theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist.”

Good beginning! Then the public broadcasting station says:

Committee Chair Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, said the bill was brought to her by Hayden Hodge [Who?], a sophomore at Hurricane High School. Hodge presented in front of the committee, stating the bill is not intended to promote any religious belief [Of course not!] but rather allow open, academic discussion.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! The bill was presented by a child! After that, the public broadcasting station quotes the child:

“That’s what I’m arguing for, teachers could possibly lose their jobs over this when all we’re doing is just offering another idea, another theory. It’s not even teaching this as the answer,” Hodge said. “We’re just saying, allow teachers to just discuss it, talk about it.”

It’s possible that there could be a more pathetic argument for intelligent design, but we’ve never seen one. The tale continues with some reactions from the legislators:

“I’m just stunned that they can’t now just talk about it,” said Sen. David Stover, R-Wyoming, a former teacher. “But even if they can technically, that doesn’t mean they’re not afraid of what might happen.”

Eli Baumwell, the advocacy director with the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, spoke against the bill. He argued that, based on the case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, allowing the teaching of intelligent design would enable violations of the establishment clause, which prohibits governments at any level in the U.S. from establishing or sponsoring religion.

Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, pointed out that Senate Bill 619 would only allow discussion of intelligent design and not require it, as in Kitzmiller v. Dover.

“It’s still held that this is ultimately a religious belief. It is not scientific and is not accepted by the scientific community and in promoting it as such, you’re promoting this religiously,” Baumwell said. “Whether or not we are saying you must teach it, or you may teach it, we are still saying you may violate the students’ rights.”

Amazing discussion. Except for Eli Baumwell, none of them ever heard of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. Ah well, let’s read on:

The bill was ultimately reported to the full Senate by the committee with the recommendation that it do pass.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! The idiotic Education Committee recommends that the crazy bill should become law!

Okay, dear reader, that’s the news from West Virginia. Thrilling, isn’t it?

Copyright © 2023. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.