From Nick Sottile, Executive Director of the SC House Democrats:
Thou Shalt Not Debate. That was the message of the Republican majority when they invoked cloture – a procedural move that severely limits speaking time and blocks amendments from being filed – just in minutes into the debate over H. 4762, a bill to require the 10 Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.
Many House Democrats are people of deep faith. Rep. Wendell Jones (D-Greenville), who is a pastor, emphasized his Christian faith in his remarks opposing the bill: “[I]t is because I love my faith – not in spite of it – that I oppose the mandatory 10 Commandments posting.” Rep. Jones went on to say, “I do not want the name of Jesus associated with coercion. I want it associated with compassion and conviction.” He noted that the Founding Fathers established a separation of church and state – which radicals like Rep. Jordan Pace (R-Berkeley) openly oppose. Moreover, Rep. Jones corrected the record about the bill’s legality…
If signed into law, this legislation will almost certainly be challenged in court and declared unconstitutional. During the debate, Republicans like Rep. Steven Long (R-Spartanburg) grossly misrepresented the status of a similar law enacted in Louisiana. In that case, federal judges in the 5th Circuit (note: South Carolina is in the 4th Circuit, so it’s not controlling precedent for us anyway) did not uphold the law, they ruled that it was premature to determine whether the law is unconstitutional.
Republican supporters of the bill know it will get us sued – meaning your tax dollars will be spent on attorney’s fees. This is why the House voted to adopt an amendment sponsored by Rep. Kambrell Garvin (D-Richland) to protect local school districts that will get sued by putting the Attorney General in charge of defending the law in court. So taxpayers will foot the bill, but at least now it won’t bankrupt local school districts.
All of our other amendments were voted down. Democratic amendments fell into two categories, because the bill itself does a few different things: it allows the display of certain historic documents and it requires the display of the 10 Commandments.
Democrats like Rep. John King (D-York), Rep. Jermaine Johnson (D-Richland), and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg) wanted important documents in Black history – such as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution – to be included in the legislation. While this effort was unsuccessful on the House floor, Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers (D-Spartanburg) was successful in getting the bill amended to include the Emancipation Proclamation during an earlier meeting of the Judiciary Committee. It is disappointing that no additional historic documents were included, despite our advocacy.
Democrats like Rep. David Weeks (D-Sumter), Rep. Roger Kirby (D-Florence), and Rep. Hamilton Grant (D-Richland) challenged the narrow religious perspective pushed by displaying the 10 Commandments. Some amendments would have included other words of scripture; Rep. Weeks asked to include Jesus’s commands that “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We argued that these efforts would make the bill more inclusive… Republicans voted down those amendments anyway.
Strangely, Republicans like Rep. Steven Long (R-Lexington), Rep. Chris Wooten (R-Lexington), and Rep. James Teeple (R-Charleston) shed crocodile tears and accused Democrats of mocking their faith. I’m still confused by this, especially considering that our caucus includes at least 7 pastors and deacons, as well as many others who are active participants in their respective faith communities.
As the debate drew to a close, one of the most powerful statements that Democrats made wasn’t a statement at all. In an unprecedented move, Rep. Justin Bamberg (D-Bamberg) stood in silent protest on the House floor. He held up a sign – “Cloture silenced Christian voices” – as a clear rebuke of the Republican attempt to shut down debate.
The 10 Commandments bill passed the House by a vote of 84-31. It now goes to the Senate, where its future is uncertain.
