SC: Student Religious Liberties Act (Statute)

[Anna Komnene]

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Sponsor: Santander

The floor is open for debate.

[Anna Komnene]

I don't really have anything against this bill, though I feel like maybe I should.  That said, I feel like this is a red herring.  I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of these things are already protected.  Is there any particular reason why we need this bill further clarifying rights that already exist?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     FWIW, schools have gotten away with various curtailments of free speech in the past. I would be interested to know what in here is already explicitly protected, because there is room for undesirable consequences of court decisions infringing on these various freedoms.

[Anna Komnene]

Basically just my experience attending a public school in one of the most liberal places you could imagine and encountering fellow students doing pretty much all of these things.  I feel like the constitution should be sufficient protection.

Still, I'm planning to vote AYE like I mentioned in my first post.

[Santander]

While this bill does not introduce any rights to students that are not already guaranteed by the Constitution, conflicts still pop up in the news from time to time. This is a deeply personal and sensitive area of the law, and many school districts and school administrators may not fully understand this body of law as well as they should. Not all laws exist to establish new things or interpretations of our rights, sometimes they just exist to affirm and codify what we already know and what has already been established in case law. This statute should help students, parents, and school districts better understand what religious expression is permitted in public schools.

[Anna Komnene]

Fair enough I guess.  There doesn't seem to be much debate here.  Does anyone oppose having a final vote?

[Anna Komnene]

Seeing no further debate, we'll take this to a final vote.  Members will vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN.  This will be a 48 hour vote.

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[Terry the Fat Shark]

AYE

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Aye

[Santander]

Aye

[Anna Komnene]

Aye

[Anna Komnene]

Voting is now closed.  The AYEs are 4, and the NAYs are 0, with 1 not voting.  The AYEs have it, and the bill has passed.  The bill is now passed onto the Governor for his signature or veto.

[Blair]

Isn't this unconstitutional?

[Associate Justice PiT]

Isn't this unconstitutional?

     How so?

[Santander]

Isn't this unconstitutional?

     How so?

Obviously there's no basis for it, considering that clauses 10 and 11 explicitly prohibit unconstitutional interpretations of the Act, and the Act itself simply codifies rights listed in a joint statement signed by the ACLU, the ADL, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Jewish Congress, American Muslim Council, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, and many other disparate religious and atheist organizations.

Just Labor being Labor.

[Blair]

Isn't this unconstitutional?

     How so?

Obviously there's no basis for it, considering that clauses 10 and 11 explicitly prohibit unconstitutional interpretations of the Act, and the Act itself simply codifies rights listed in a joint statement signed by the ACLU, the ADL, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Jewish Congress, American Muslim Council, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, and many other disparate religious and atheist organizations.

Just Labor being Labor.

Oh please; you were in Labor just a couple of weeks ago

[Santander]

Isn't this unconstitutional?

     How so?

Obviously there's no basis for it, considering that clauses 10 and 11 explicitly prohibit unconstitutional interpretations of the Act, and the Act itself simply codifies rights listed in a joint statement signed by the ACLU, the ADL, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Jewish Congress, American Muslim Council, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, and many other disparate religious and atheist organizations.

Just Labor being Labor.

Oh please; you were in Labor just a couple of weeks ago

We all make mistakes.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

As a Laborite, I would also like to hear Senator Blair's reasoning as to why he believes this is unconstitutional.

[Associate Justice PiT]

As a Laborite, I would also like to hear Senator Blair's reasoning as to why he believes this is unconstitutional.

     I support this law, but I don't want to sign a bill that is unconstitutional, so this is why I am asking him. I would note that it also passes into law without my signature, so Senator Blair could help us all out by explaining his reasoning.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

jeopardy music begins playing

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Eh, we'll deal with it when it comes.

     X PiT, South Governor

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Given my personal history in this subject and speaking as a member of the House of Representatives, I discern nothing to be unconstitutional. If the courts try anything I will propose similar if not identical legislation at the federal level.