A Bizarre and Outrageous Attack on Evolution by a Louisiana Legislator
The following is a Bill introduced by Louisiana Legislator Sharon Weston-Broome. It is typical of creationist mud slinging tactics used to attack those who support evolution.
This Bill is devoid of any semblance of reason. It promotes the big lie that evolution is responsible for racism, just as Hitler promoted the big lie that Jews were responsible for immorality. Ms. Broome is simply repeating the core concept of creationist ideology that we see over and over again in creationist literature: that evolution is responsible for all evil.
HLS 01-2652
ORIGINAL
Page 1 of 2
Regular Session, 2001
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 74
BY REPRESENTATIVE BROOME
CIVIL RIGHTS: Provides relative to racism and education about
racism
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
To provide relative to racism and education about racism.
2
WHEREAS, America's
foundational document, The Declaration of 3
Independence, expresses the self-evident truth that all men are
created equal, 4
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, and 5
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; and
6
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 declares
7
that the only legitimate ends of government are to secure justice for
all, 8
preserve peace, protect the rights, and promote the happiness and
general 9
welfare of the people; and 10
WHEREAS, empirical science has documented an indisputable 11
commonality among all people groups, or races, and has demonstrated
that 12
normal variations in the human gene pool account for our differences,
of 13
which racial differences are a trivial portion; and 14
WHEREAS, the writings of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution,
15
promoted the justification of racism, and his books On the Origin of
Species 16
by Means of Natural Selection: or the Preservation of Favoured Races
in the 17
Struggle for Life and The Descent of Man postulate a hierarchy of
superior and 18
inferior races; and 19
H.C.R. NO. 74
HLS 01-2652 ORIGINAL
Page 2 of 2
WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler and others have exploited the racist views of
1
Darwin and those he influenced, such as German zoologist Ernst Haekel,
to 2
justify the annihilation of millions of purportedly racially inferior
individuals. 3
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana 4
does hereby deplore all instances and ideologies of racism, does
hereby reject 5
the core concepts of Darwinist ideology that certain races and classes
of 6
humans are inherently superior to others, and does hereby condemn the
extent 7
to which these philosophies have been used to justify and approve
racist 8
practices. 9
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature does also hereby 10
urge and request the public education system of Louisiana, as
appropriate in 11
the curriculum, to address the commonalities of people groups and the
12
weaknesses of Darwinian racism. 13
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution 14
be transmitted to the commissioner of administration, who will make
its 15
contents known to the heads of each Louisiana state department and
agency; 16
to the Board of Regents, who will make its contents known to each
college and 17
university president or chancellor; and to the state superintendent of
education, 18
who will make its contents known to the superintendent of each city,
parish, 19
or other local public school system. 20
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services.
It
constitutes no part of the legislative instrument.
Broome HCR No. 74
Provides relative to racism and education about racism. Deplores
racism,
rejects Darwin's concepts of superior and inferior races and classes
of humans,
and condemns the use of these philosophies to justify racist
practices. Also
urges and requests the state's public education system, as
appropriate in the
curriculum, to address the commonalities of people and the weaknesses
of
Darwinian
racism.