Republican lawmakers in Georgia have Sharia on their minds.
The “American Laws for Georgia Courts Act” was recently introduced in both chambers of Georgia’s General Assembly. The bill would amend Georgia law so that “no court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other tribunal shall enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed by the Constitution of this state or of the United States.”
While Georgia’s bill is aimed at banning Sharia, it doesn’t explicitly mention it – a strategy employed in similar bills introduced other states.
State Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta), who is vice chairman of the Georgia House Judiciary Committee, introduced the bill in the state House, and told the Fulton County Daily Report the bill would ban Sharia, while admitting that he does not know of any cases in Georgia where Islamic law has been an issue.
See also “At least 13 states have introduced bills guarding against non-existent threat of Sharia law”, Think Progress, 8 February 2011