Well, no surprise, the Senate passed it. SB96 is on to the House.
It looks to me like there are 17 senators who are dead set determined to lower Utah school's science standards to fit their religious beliefs. If this bill ever becomes law I hope the federal judge who shoots the law down will require these Senators to retake their high school science classes or he will revoke their high school diplomas.
5 comments:
It is interesting to me how the senate seemed to miss the issue of separation of church and state, which seems to me to be the core of the debate. Can they see the parallels with Dover, PA? Are there really so few Utah citizens who see the pitfalls of this legislation? I contacted my state senator urging him to vote no and in his reply he only addressed his concerns with human origins (and asked me, where is the evidence!!). Is there any grassroots action out there to stop this legislation?
What do you think the changes are that this bill will get through the House?
My original thought was that the law was so backwards, that it would die in committee. Obviously, I had overestimated the intelligence of the Utah Senate.
Anonymous,
I honestly think that most of the senators know that this bill is all about religion. It’s obvious to me that several do know this from their comment we hear emphatically stated over and over again, “There is no religion in this bill”. They are just trying to be ingenious so as to avoid a confrontation over this in a federal court. Those senators who have made more overt statements of their religious reasons for supporting this bill either really are being dumb, or they want this bill/law to face an onerous death in a federal court.
As for Utah citizens not seeing the pitfalls of this legislation, well, I hate to say it, but the polls show it, there really are very few who understand evolution, ID, creationism, science itself, and the reasons and legalities of teaching them or not in public schools.
Is there any grassroots action out there to stop this legislation?
Yes, me and my blog :^)
Kevin,
I doubt that the bill will change in any substantive way in the House. The changes made in the senate were only cosmetic, designed to clarify a few things in an attempt to avoid future legal confrontation, but the substance of the bill is untouched.
My question was actually if you think this bill has any chance of passing the house?
There is no admendment that could improve said legislation. They might be able to change the bill from absurd to Kafka-esque. Such really is not an improvement.
Kevin,
I think it has a good chance of passing in the House. Ever since I read in the paper the polls that 2/3rds of Utahns want ID taught with evolution I realized that there is a lot of popular support for this bill. For a representative, to vote against this bill is to vote against their own constituents.
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