Bible battle isn't over
Your Legislature's "Year of the Bible" resolution continues to draw attention, litigation and now another resolution; guess lawmakers don't have enough to do.
Bible battle isn't over
John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist
Remember that unanimously-adopted "Year of the Bible" resolution your state House passed back in January?
Remember how a bunch of lawmakers, including Philly Democrats Mark Cohen, Babette Josephs and Tony Payton, opposed it after voting for it on grounds they hadn't read it and didn't know they were voting to make 2012 the year of the Bible in Pennsylvania?
And how that set off a round of comment, including from the likes of me, about, you know, do they ever read what they vote for, don't they have anything more pressing to do than pushing a measure that some say suggests monolithic religious intolerance?
Well, the issue's back.
The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports internal and external kerfuffle over the measure.
Seems Cohen sought to have the resolution rescinded but was told by the House parliamentarian that he waited too long. Now Cohen says he'll introduce another resolution making 2012 "The Year of Religious Diversity."
There's more, a Wisconsin-based atheist group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has filed a federal lawsuit to void the measure as unconstitutional, and the House has hired a Philly law firm to respond to the suit.
Your tax dollars at work.
The lawsuit, in U.S. District Middle Court in Harrisburg, comes after another group called American Atheists and Pennsylvania Nonbelievers, put up a billboard ad in Harrisburg comparing the "Year of the Bible" resolution to an endorsement of slavery.
The billboard pictured a black, shackled slave and the biblical quote, "Slaves, obey your masters." It was defaced the first night it was up. It then was taken down. But, perhaps not surprisingly, made national news for our capital city and our band of lawmakers.
Just goes to show: there is no end to the ways our elected officials bring unending pride to the Keystone State.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
Just think of all the jobs this won't create.— Jeff West- "Year of the Bible" is beyond ludicrous. THIS is what the PA state house is concerning themselves with?— Jabey
- The year of the babble.— Bartleby
Comment removed.- Why do these reps go near this stuff.— chham57
- I am not so much worried about some silly resolution as the idea that three of our representatives voted for a resolution and did not know what was in it!?! Is that not the least bit disturbing.— AliciaCarla
- Let's see. The republicans took over the legislature and promised jobs. So far, they have made l.aw suits harder, protected gas companies, protected other big businesses from competition and law suits, tried to make women seeking an abortion get an internal ultrasound, and made this the Year of the Bible. Why should I not think that republicans lie every election year, promising to do popular things, but instead enact extreme, wealth-friendly, relgious laws that are popular with the fringe of our society?— Philly Born
- Not only that but didn't they pledge to get rid of the State Store scam once they took over?
- Please don't forget Babette Josephs is being challenged this year - if we all try hard enough we might be rid of her sooooooooon!— He Visto Todo
- How sad that some people think their belief and religion is so weak they must have government sanction and recognition in order to justify their belief. Do they wake up in the morning and say "God, you are so weak, I must have my secular representatives acknwledge you to make my faith in you relevant? I must have secular people recognize you or I am wasting my time? And about those children your ministers raped, well, we will just say that is religious discrimination."— ChrisWZD
- No Book of Mormon resolution? Why do they hate Kerry McRomney?— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
- 2013 Year of the Koran
2014 Year of the Torah
2015 Year of the Kama Sutra— Jets - We never hear about the dumb legislation when Democrats are in charge. How are everyone's property taxes doing with all that casino revenue Democrats promised would lower our property taxes?— AvoidSundanceVacations
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
