Via the Spokesman Review:
The House has voted 44-24 in favor of HB 419, Rep. Eric Redman’s anti-Sharia law bill, which seeks to forbid the recognition of any foreign law by Idaho courts. Here’s the full vote breakdown:
Voting in favor: Reps. Anderst, Armstrong, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Chaney, Cheatham, Collins, Crane, Dayley, DeMordaunt, Dixon, Ehardt, Gestrin, Giddings, Hanks, Harris, Hartgen, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kerby, Kingsley, Loertscher, Luker, McDonald, Mendive, Monks, Moon, Moyle, Nate, Packer, Palmer, Perry, Raybould, Redman, Scott, Shepherd, Syme, Thompson, VanderWoude, Wagoner, Youngblood, Zito, and Zollinger.
Voting against: Reps. Amador, Anderson, Bell, Burtenshaw, Chew, Clow, Erpelding, Gannon, Gibbs, Kauffman, King, Kloc(Tway), Malek(Patano), Manwaring, McCrostie, Miller, Rubel, Smith, Stevenson, Toone, Troy, VanOrden, Wintrow, and Bedke.
As he has before, Redman read large portions of his opening debate word-for-word from the American Public Policy Alliance’s “American Laws for American Courts” website.
The bill follows model legislation developed by the group, which is headed by Louisiana attorney Stephen Gele; it promotes the concept to states, and has gotten it passed in several. A 2010 Oklahoma constitutional amendment forbidding that state’s courts from considering Sharia in decisions was overturned in federal court in 2013. Redman’s version, like the most recent model legislation, doesn’t specifically mention Sharia, to avoid that constitutional problem, but it’s the most frequent example he and others use to explain why they feel it’s needed.
Redman told the House that while no Idaho judge has made a decision based on foreign laws, it could happen. “We dare not wait to install the smoke detector after the fire,” he said, adding that there have been “multiple instances” in other states in which judges based their rulings on foreign laws.