Kansas law seems racist

It’s always a bit strange when proponents of one bill or another fall back on saying that something is simply part of “American values.”  What are American values?  In a country made up of immigrants and constantly changing, how can someone say that one viewpoint or another is inherently American?

Even worse is when the idea of American values is used to promote something that is clearly racist.  For example, the new Kansas law signed by Governor Brownback. 

While the bill technically just says that courts, administrative agencies or state tribunals can’t use foreign laws or legal systems to base their rulings on (at least ones that would not grant the parties the same rights guaranteed by state and U.S. constitutions) the language used on the supporter’s website is incredibly discriminatory.  The group sponsoring it particularly says that it wants “to protect Americans' freedoms from infiltration by foreign laws and legal doctrines, especially Islamic Shariah Law."

Given the fact that supporters specifically mentioned Shariah Law, Muslim groups have suggested that a legal challenge is likely.  It’s strange, because there are no known cases in which a Kansas judge have actually based a ruling on Islamic Law, and it is unlikely that they would in the future.

Yet supporters remain convinced that such a move is necessary.  The governor's spokeswoman, Sherriene Jones-Sontag, even said that “this disturbing recent trend of activist judges relying upon the laws of other nations has been rejected by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both the Kansas House and Senate.”

This entire thing seems like a blatant attempt to attack Muslims for no other reason than to attack them.  The spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ibrahim Hooper, agrees.

"Underlying all of this is demonizing Islam and marginalizing American Muslims," he said.