No. 2029 to prevent Sharia law from superseding the Constitution.
CAIR claims it prevents them from dominating the dhimmis.
House Bill 2029 would ban Pennsylvania courts from considering any foreign legal code or system that isn't identical with the Constitution. Islamists say that it is specifically targeted against the practice of Sharia Law--a religious code for Muslims that has the power of law in some countries. Council on American-Islamic Relations Attorney Amara Chaudhry says this would block freedom of religious expression.
"This is not a new faith we are not a foreign faith and yes this dangerous, clearly stated discriminatory purpose on a publicly circulated document, you just don't get any more troubling than that," said Chaudhry.
Professor Khalid Blankinship of Temple University discriminated against Catholics by comparing Sharia to the Catholic teaching that divorce is not allowed.
"That would be like going into the Catholic Church and telling them that you can't marry people the way you want or saying you have to allow divorce of people even if the Pope ruled otherwise," said Blankinship. The professor should get his facts correct. This is not how Canon law works in the Church.
State Representative Rosemarie Swanger of Lebanon County, who authored the bill, says it is designed to preserve rights of liberty that do not exist in some foreign legal systems. She has said recognizing foreign laws could allow women to be treated as second-class citizens. In a letter she sent to colleagues, Swanger called Sharia law "inherently hostile to our constitutional liberties."
House Bill 2029: Prohibits the Application of Foreign Law in Pennsylvania Proceedings
Sponsors:
Representatives RoseMarie Swanger, Daryl Metcalfe, Scott Perry, Matthew Baker, Kerry Benninghoff, Paul Clymer, Jim Cox, Tom Creighton, Bryan Cutler, Gordon Denlinger, George Dunbar, John Evans, Matt Gabler, Richard Geist, Mauree Gingrich, Seth Grove, Susan Helm, Tim Hennessey, Rob Kauffman, Fred Keller, Jerry Knowles, John Maher, Carl Walker Metzgar, David Millard, Ron Miller, Dan Moul, Thomas Murt, T. Mark Mustio, Donna Oberlander, Michael Peifer, Jeffrey Pyle, Kathy Rapp, Brad Roae, Rick Saccone, Stan Saylor, Curt Schroder, Jerry Stern, Will Tallman, Marcy Toepel, Tarah Toohil, Dan Truitt, Mike Vereb, and Rosita Youngblood
Summary:
This bill would prohibit the application of foreign law to judicial or administrative proceedings in Pennsylvania except under certain circumstances.