And so it begins …
January 13, 2010
Last year it was Oklahoma. This year the honor of birthing the first anti-evolution bill of 2010 goes to Mississippi. HB 586 provides for a lesson on human evolution which “shall have proportionately equal instruction from educational materials that present scientifically sound arguments by protagonists and antagonists of the theory of evolution.”
This is almost a definition of ‘mealy mouthed’, or would be if they didn’t think there were sound arguments on the agin side.
The bill will likely pass. This probably isn’t the DI’s newest try-Mississippi’s just that stupid. This is close enough to the unconstitutional dual-model approach to get overturned by a court.
Ah well, just have to discuss the soundness of anti-evolution arguments in court. Could be fun.
If it only requires “scientifically sound” arguments to be presented, then Creationists and ID’ers (and any other “antagonists” currently yammering away) are automatically excluded.
“Proportionately equal” – won’t this just mean nothing will be said at all given the lack of science from the Creationist/ID side??
H’mmm. I notice it only pertains to human evolution. Interesting.
The sponsor, a Mr Chism, is a Southern Baptist and a life insurance salesman when not legislating his religion. What’s really needed here is for someone else in their legislature to propose an amendment to teach the FSM side of the controversy. Mr Chism apparently hasn’t read of Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. (400 F. Supp. 2d 707, Docket no. 4cv2688) Or perhaps, not being a lawyer, he does not see how that decision applies, or perhaps he thinks his bill won’t be challenged in court.
Wow, this is practically an annual event in Mississippi – and in Missouri, too, where another bill has been introduced. I think that technically South Carolina has the first antievolution bill of 2010, however, since it was introduced last year but doesn’t come up for consideration until this year’s legislative session. Let’s hope these bills continue the long-standing tradition of dying in committee.