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Alabama Lawmakers: Church Can Form its Own Police Department

posted by martyb on Thursday April 13 2017, @01:03AM   Printer-friendly
from the it-is-not-the-law...-yet dept.

takyon writes:

Alabama lawmakers have voted 24-4 to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to establish a police department. The church has over 4,000 members and is also home to a K-12 school and a theological seminary with 2,000 students and teachers:

"After the shooting at Sandy Hook and in the wake of similar assaults at churches and schools, Briarwood recognized the need to provide qualified first responders to coordinate with local law enforcement," church administrator Matt Moore said in a statement, referring to the mass murder of 20 first graders and six teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut by a deranged man with an AR-15 style rifle just before Christmas 2012. "The sole purpose of this proposed legislation is to provide a safe environment for the church, its members, students and guests." The church would pay the bill for its officers.

[...] "It's our view this would plainly be unconstitutional," Randall Marshall, the ACLU's Acting Executive Director, told NBC News. In a memo to the legislature, Marshall said they believe the bills "violate the First Amendment or the U.S. Constitution and, if enacted, would not survive a legal challenge." "Vesting state police powers in a church police force violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment," his memo states. "These bills unnecessarily carve out special programs for religious organizations and inextricably intertwine state authority and power with church operations."

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Lagg on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:49AM (2 children)

    by Lagg (105) on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:49AM (#493230) Homepage Journal

    Only way to remove the terrified pants shitting coward mindset is - I personally believe - much like how I "cured" my OCD. Exposure therapy.

    I will need a prayer mat, a turban, eye shadow, a baggy of mescalin, 26 mexicans, 8 ounces of weed and 2 days.

    After that. We will discuss the implementation of the treatment.

    --
    http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=1, Funny=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   4  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @03:18AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @03:18AM (#493238)

    It's either that or the making of one hell of a weekend.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by dyingtolive on Thursday April 13 2017, @05:53AM

    by dyingtolive (952) on Thursday April 13 2017, @05:53AM (#493270)

    Fuck, I'm not Mexican, but volunteer to participate or witness as needed. Sounds like a weekend to be there for.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!