Valentine Pontifex

It is early in the year and many states are starting their legislative sessions for the year. We should expect that the evolution deniers will try to get anti-evolution bills passed into law.

So, if you are an American, it might be a good idea to check what laws are being proposed by your state legislature. Its web site is certain to have all current bills online.

This page links to all 50 state legislatures

Valentine Pontifex

Has anyone checked?

Jobar

I get the Americans United newsletter Church and State, free inquiry magazine, and the Skeptical Inquirer. If one of these don't catch any new attempts to legislate creationism, I doubt I will be able to. Do you realize how much reading you'd have to do, just to cover new education bills? (And the bastids may try to sneak in their weasel words in bills which appear entirely unrelated to education!)

Kevin

I checked, trying out multiple keyword searches using the terms most often utilized by fundamentalists trying to sneak in creationism, and turned up nothing for California. However, I don't think this will be as much a problem in California, because we've generally had good marks for our coverage of evolution in schools (for example. in this Fordham Foundation report.)

Hastur

Arrgh.

Washington has a couple bills to insert disclaimers a'la Alabama into science textbooks.

They got a favorable review from Slade Gorton (I would have expected better from him) for a bill to concurrently teach both some specific diety-less version of creationism and evolution.

Yah, let's waste even more classroom time detailing why ID isn't even science, let alone a legitimate alternative to evolution.

Valentine Pontifex

I don't see these bills. I see some long dead bills listed, but nothing from the current legislative session.

Coragyps

Texas doesn't have anything obvious on the stove re creationism - the concern down here looks like it's that gay folk might want some rights or somthing. I saw about three proposed bills that sound like that the bill sponsors don't want 'em to get some.

Hastur

D'oh!

I didn't realize the bill IDs actually reference the year they're from.
:banghead:

Should've noticed the big "1974" in the middle of the page, too.

beejay

Appears "clean" on evolution/creationism issues.

There are some "In God We Trust" bills pending.

Tat

This year? Harold Hochstatter (R-Moses Lake, for what its worth) introduced bills for warning lables every year since 1998 (probably before, but I wasn't watching the leg then). He is now retired. But we'll still have the fond memories:

His warning lable bills (eg SB-6058, 2001 session) actually got co-sponsors, but I never geave them a significant chance of passing.

Hochstatter was a real nutter on evolution. I've never met him personally, but from what I hear he is otherwise quite reasonable (for a conservative Republican).

For the record, SB-6500 died last year in comittee, just like the other similar bills he had previously introduced.

For those not up on governance in Washington, Slade Gordon (R) (aka Slick Slade, Skelator), was formerly a US senator from Wasington. He lost in 2000 to Maria Cantwell (D), an internet gozillionaire. I'm suprised he made such a comment, since he was a US senator, not a state senator. One rule of thumb of politics is never cross a fence when you can sit on it. Whether he is personally anti-evolution I don't know. It would not suprise me though.