The bill says the First Amendment only applies to the federal government and does not stop state governments, local governments and school districts from adopting measures that defy the Constitution.

Ok then.  Everyone gets their own personal Constitution.

Oh, it's all fun and games until you piss off the Presbyterians.

Not exactly, Subby.  They're too chickensh*t to declare which denomination, sect, synod, translation, and/or orthodoxy of evangelical, protestant Christian they really want.

They're just saying the federal courts and SCOTUS have no authority to judge constitutionality and that the first amendment does not apply to anything besides the feds.  And that all case law above the state level is inapplicable.  And that they can ignore whatever parts of the constitution they want, because they heard about the 10th Amendment in an email forward.

You know: small stuff.

Surprised it took this long for Earnhardtianity to catch on.

I am sorry, the first amendment does not apply to the states? The 14th amendment would like to have a word with you. Dipshiats.

By "North Carolina decides..." you mean "Four State Senators from North Carolina decide..."

Theocratic scumbags. If they weren't given the wiggle room the Constitution allows to let them have free exercise to begin with, they'd be crusading terrorists like Al Qaeda. The worst shiat stain control freaks justified by faith.

Didn't we sort all this out in 1865?

How soon until they bomb Beijing then fly off into the sky to protect their REAL America from the Sodom below?

aaronx: Didn't we sort all this out in 1865?

Rather emphatically, to my recollection.

sorry kids, you're just about 150 years too late on this one:
The bill says the First Amendment only applies to the federal government and does not stop state governments, local governments and school districts from adopting measures that defy the Constitution. The legislation also says that the Tenth Amendment, which says powers not reserved for the federal government belong to the states, prohibits court rulings

there has actually been scholarly legal agreement that the somewhat strange wording of the First Amendment's establishment clause (make no law respecting)  actually was written to prevent the federal government from abolosihing the already established offical religions of several states including Virginia.

However, any power the state may have had to establish such a church, is cleanly abolished by the 14th amendment's due process clause, and supreme courrt ruling finding that Amendment 1 is clearly "incorporated" into the fundamental Due process protections of the 14th.

/funny how these asshats just LOVE them some tenth amendment, but never seem to pay attention to any of the ones that come after that...perhaps they can;t count any higher

Can we just let these asshats seccede this time, with the caveat that they renounce their US citizenship forever?

I really need to move back north.

BMulligan: Pants_Optional: Mentat: The bill says the First Amendment only applies to the federal government and does not stop state governments, local governments and school districts from adopting measures that defy the Constitution.

Ok then.  Everyone gets their own personal Constitution.

Pretty sure the 14th Amendment covers this.

Probably, but is there case law on point? I don't know if the Free Exercise Clause has been held to have been incorporated or not.

the entire first is regarded as incoroporated, Otherwise msot fo the seminal establishment clause cases including Lemon  would be moot as they involved state aid to parochial schools not federal

BMulligan: Mentat: The bill says the First Amendment only applies to the federal government and does not stop state governments, local governments and school districts from adopting measures that defy the Constitution.

Ok then.  Everyone gets their own personal Constitution.

I'm sure these folks were outraged by the McDonald decision, which held the Second Amendment binding on the states by incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment - right?

I'm sure if you ask them about the McDonald decision they would say that lady shouldn't have had the coffee between her legs and she got way too much money.

LouDobbsAwaaaay: These votes serve as affirmations that the south refuses to recognize the black man in the White House.  That's all this is.  They lost, so now they want to take their ball and go home.

Tell me about it. I want Obama's second term to be over already if only so I don't have to hear the nonstop petulant whinging anymore.

Smackledorfer: Follow up question for the lawyers:

has there been any clause in the Bill of Rights which has been considered not to apply to state governments and below when the case is taken up?

A couple. It is clause by clause, as decided by the supreme court. So I am pretty sure the third amendment has not been applied to the states, since quartering of soldiers has not turned out to be the most pressing concern requiring judicial intervention.

I think there are a couple of other clauses.

Forget Sherman. I want to resurrect Jefferson so he can lay into these assholes.