Oklahoma Seeks to "Save" Itself from the Requirements of the U.S. Constitution

A month ago the ACLU wrote Oklahoma Seeks to "Save" Itself from the Requirements of the U.S. Constitution. "On Monday, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument in Awad v. Ziriax, a legal challenge to Oklahoma's proposed "Save our State Amendment", which would prohibit Oklahoma state judges from considering international law, foreign law, or Sharia (Islamic law).

While the proposed amendment is clearly intended to demonize American Muslims and limit their religious freedom and access to Oklahoma's legal system, there is another equally troubling and unconstitutional element to its character — the amendment would prevent Oklahoma's judges from appropriately considering international law, including treaties that the United States has ratified.

During the argument, the judges asked Oklahoma Solicitor General Patrick Wyrick about the proposed amendment's prohibition on judicial consideration of international and foreign law and raised questions both about its constitutionality and about the chaos that it could cause in Oklahoma courts. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Wyrick had no real answer to the judges' concerns and claimed that the ban did not single out one religious code, but that the "intent here was to exclude Sharia law and international law.""

It goes on to point out some problems, like recognizing foreign adoptions, marriages, foreign business transactions, etc.