Texas Senate passes bill aimed at banning sharia law from courts

The Texas state Senate has approved a bill that is aimed at banning foreign code of law, including sharia law, from being applied in the state's courts.

HB45, the Texas Foreign Law Procedural Protection Act, was passed by the House on May 6, and the Senate on May 22. According to CBN News, the bill is currently awaiting the governor's signature.

The legislation would ban aspects of sharia that conflicts with American laws, including child marriages and other "family law" cases.

The bill has come under fire from pro-Muslim groups such as the Center for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which described it as "anti-sharia." The group has encouraged its supporters to protest against the bill and it has listed the names and phone numbers of representatives on its website so that people can call to complain.

The group contended that HB45 is "designed to negatively impact Muslims' civil rights and to demonize their faith."

"We believe it aims to prevent Muslims from practicing their faith in areas such as Islamic marriage, divorce, funeral procedures and civil agreements," the group went on to say.

Texas was not the first state to pass a bill that bans the implementation of foreign laws. CBN News noted that 13 other states have introduced similar legislation this year alone.

In Michigan, lawmakers introduced HB 4499, which is intended at partially stopping foreign laws from being used and "provide for modification or voiding of certain contractual provisions or agreements that would result in a violation of constitutional rights."

In March, the Montana House of Representatives advanced Senate Bill 97, which would prohibit the state's courts from relying on foreign laws that conflict with the Montana or U.S. constitutions.

Supporters of the bill noted that the language contains no reference to religion, but Democrats argued that the measure was intended to target a specific religion in contradiction of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Rep. Brad Tschida (R-Missoula) argued that the bill would simply safeguard the primacy of rights guaranteed under state and federal law.

"Our constitution is constantly under assault. Some of it is small and subtle and some of it is major," he said.

The bill passed its second reading in the Montana House by a vote of 56–44 in March, but it was vetoed by the governor in April.