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Birther Texas Rep. Pushes ‘Religious Or Cultural Law’ (Read: Sharia) Ban

Rep. Leo Berman (R-TX)

Texas state Rep. Leo Berman (R), last seen getting shellacked by Anderson Cooper over his birther bill, is pushing a state constitutional amendment that would prevent Texas courts from considering “religious or cultural law” when handing down rulings.

Though the amendment doesn’t specifically say anything about sharia law — like a recently-blocked law in Oklahoma does, for example — Berman said of the resolution: “A lot of federal courts are referring to international courts and laws of other countries. We want to make sure our courts are not doing this, especially in regards to cultural laws. If that includes Sharia law, then so be it.”

The resolution says: “A court of this state shall uphold the laws of the Constitution of the United States, this Constitution, federal laws, and laws of this state. A court of this state may not enforce, consider, or apply any religious or cultural law.”

To become law, it would have to be passed by both chambers of the Texas legislature, and by the voters in November of this year.

Last November, Berman introduced a bill that would “require any candidate for president or vice president of the United States to show his or her birth certificate to the Texas secretary of state,” because, as Berman put it, “we have a president whom the American people don’t know whether he was born in Kenya or some other place.” Anderson Cooper told him in a CNN appearance that “you’re basing legislation on stuff that’s just rumors and stuff that’s been proven to be false.” Watch that video here.

h/t American Independent.

Leo Berman, Sharia, Texas
Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.

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