After more than two hours of testimony both for and against the bill, the House State Affairs Committee has voted to approve Rep. Eric Redman’s anti-Sharia law bill, with just two dissenting votes. The two dissenters were Reps. Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello, and Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello; Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, wasn’t present, nor was her substitute who’s filled in for her earlier this week, as she submitted her resignation from the Legislature today. All other committee members supported Redman’s bill, which he calls “American Law for American Courts.”
The bill follows model legislation developed by the American Public Policy Alliance, a group headed by Louisiana attorney Stephen Gele that promotes the concept to states, and has gotten it passed in several. A 2010 Oklahoma constitutional amendment forbidding that state’s courts from considering Sharia in decisions was overturned in federal court in 2013. Redman said his bill could affect other types of foreign laws as well.