Alabama Senate votes to allow church to form police dept.

[DesertRat]

For a state that seems very concerned about sharia law, they sure seem hellbent on clearing the way for it.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Senate has voted to allow a church to form its own police force.

Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 24-4 to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to establish a law enforcement department.

The church says it needs its own police officers to keep its school as well as its more than 4,000 person congregation safe.

Critics of the bill argue that a police department that reports to church officials could be used to cover up crimes.

The state has given a few private universities the authority to have a police force, but never a church or non-school entity.

http://www.wbrc.com/story/35126003/alabama-senate-oks-church-police-bill

[LonePirate]

1. There is an easy way to kill this bill.

Just find someone associated with a non-evangelical religion (be it Islam, Hinduism, Spaghetti Monster, etc.) announce complete public support for the bill and talk about how they will go about implementing it.

The idiots and bigots in the AL legislature will kill this bill immediately.

[get the red out]

2. That would definitely work!

People that propose these bills giving more power to Christianity seldom think ahead to the fact that religions they hate could then get the same power.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

3. Gives new meaning to "bible thumpers"!

[procon]

4. Sounds like a theocracy.

Do they fancy themselves like the Vatican with a private police force protecting the Pope and the millions of pilgrims? Blessed be the badges of the lord... and their god given guns, what could possibly go wrong in that picture? The ACLU is already saying this would plainly be unconstitutional. Do these sacred cops follow state laws or impose fundie religious laws and cover up problems? If the State will grant a special favor to one specific church, what about a mosque, or the Satanic Temple, or a black church in Alabama setting up their own armed police force too? Yeah, like that'll happen!

[DrDan]

5. at long last . . . our own mutawa ala Saudi religious police

[shenmue]

6. The fuck is this shit?!

[DesertRat]

8. I don't think that the AL Senate would allow a mosque to have it's own police force...

[BSdetect]

7. Next an actual Inquisition?