A bill that would ban the use of foreign legal codes in Kansas courts — broadly written but particularly aimed at Islamic “Sharia” law — is on its way to the governor.
Sen. Tim Owens, an Overland Park Republican who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, apologized for putting the Senate in the position of having to vote on the bill, which passed the House 120-0 earlier in the week.
“This is one where I made some mistakes. The first one was signing the conference report,” he said.
Emphasizing that he is a Christian, Owens said: “I think this bill will set Kansas out as a place not to go if you believe any other way than particularly a very small religious-right perspective. … This country is based on freedom. And it isn’t ‘You can only be free if you think like me.’”