I think that this is a fine example of why I think the proposed “religious bill of rights” for students in Colorado would be a stupid, stupid idea.
Because if nothing else, a lot of the language in that so-called “bill of rights” sure makes it sound like this kind of shit would be acceptable:
Parents said the situation escalated after a student put a postcard of Jesus on Hussain’s desk that the teacher threw in the trash. Parents also said Hussain sent to the office students who, during a lesson about evolution, asked about the role of God in creation.
On her Facebook page, Hussain wrote about students spreading rumors that she was a Jesus hater. She complained about her students wearing Jesus T-shirts and singing “Jesus Loves Me.” She objected to students reading the Bible instead of doing class work.
But Annette Balint, whose daughter is in Hussain’s class, said the students have the right to wear those shirts and sing “Jesus Loves Me,” a long-time Sunday School staple. She said the students were reading the Bible during free time in class.
“She doesn’t have to be a professing Christian to be in the classroom,” Balint said. “But she can’t go the other way and not allow God to be mentioned.”
Sounds like an awesome learning environment to me. More commentary at Pharyngula.
In good news, as of yesterday – I’m thinking some time after I wrote the long, bitchy post about it1 – the Judiciary Committee:
After consideration on the merits, the Committee recommends the following:
SB10-089 be postponed indefinitely.
I take that to be state senate speak for “We think this is such a phenomenally stupid idea that we’re just going to sit on it until everyone forgets this bill even existed.” Or I can hope.
EDIT: Phil Plait pointed out to me that the judiciary committee went straight along party lines. That is completely unsurprising in this state. When I checked out the actual votes, I noticed that Evie Hudak is one of the members of the committee, and she’s my state senator2. I think I shall send her a nice note, since she voted to kill the thing.
1 – I am totally not proposing a causal link between these two things (or involving the post that Phil Plait wrote that prompted me to be cranky) but wouldn’t it be awesome if there was?
2 – Not only did I vote for her, I also donated $200 to her campaign when she ran; I received an attack ad from her opponent featuring a hysterical warning about how Mrs. Hudak wants pedophiles to rape your children in the bathroom because she supported a bill that lets transgendered individuals use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. It made me just a little angry.