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Atheists aren’t allowed to run for office in Texas

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  • Atheists aren’t allowed to run for office in Texas

    Every year for as long as I can remember Law faculties around the world review archaic laws & silly laws still on the statute books in their jurisdiction. The funniest are usually published in January each year. I went looking today, but I guess this years batch hasn't been released yet...so here is a blast from the past...

    * Atheists aren’t allowed to run for office in Texas. Though the Lone Star State prohibits “religious tests” as a qualification for candidates, anyone wishing to run for office must acknowledge the existence of a “Supreme Being”.
    http://www.businessinsider.com.au/st...15-3?r=US&IR=T

    The Texas Post (December 3, 2014)
    http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-dail...fice-in-texas/

    "Politics can frequently devolve into absurdity, but the race for the Austin City Council seat in the newly-created District 4 has been remarkably absurd in ways, in fact, that highlight some of the weird things about the entire state of Texas. Or, at least, its constitution..."

    (In the race one aspirant accused another of being a self confessed atheist. The accusation based on a paper he'd written many years before. The accuser cited the Constitution of Texas to make the case that the accused should be dismissed from the contest.)

    "[The accused] denies being an atheist—he told the Statesman that he considers himself a Catholic—and that the paper was “more about finding spirituality than losing it”...

    [The accuser] is correct that the language [of] the Texas Constitution [prohibits an atheist from holding public office], but that doesn’t mean that an atheist—which, it’s worth reiterating, [the accused] says he is not—is actually barred from holding office in Texas. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, in the No Religious Test Clause, makes clear that restrictions like the one in Texas are unconstitutional.

    All of which raises an important question: If that restriction is unconstitutional, what’s it doing in the Texas Constitution?"

    ...officeholders [can] believe in a Supreme Being of [any] sort (whether it be the Judeo-Christian God, Zeus, a hodgepodge of cobbled-together bits of freshman-year philosophy, The Force, etc), but the requirement in Texas has never been successfully challenged in court, because no candidate has ever been denied the opportunity to serve because of it....

    ...It’s a little strange, admittedly, for the Texas Constitution to still have an obviously unenforceable, unconstitutional bit of language..."
    Last edited by elam; 01-10-2017, 10:33 PM.

  • #2
    Originally posted by elam View Post
    All of which raises an important question: If that restriction is unconstitutional, what’s it doing in the Texas Constitution?"
    Because the people in Texas are insane?

    Fun fact: In Norway, the word "texas" was adopted into their language to mean 'insane' or 'completely crazy', due to the popularity of Texan cowboy movies in Norway in the 50s, and it is still a widely used term in Norwegian.
    "I hate him passionately", he's "a demonic force" - Tucker Carlson, in private, on Donald Trump
    "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism" - George Orwell
    "[Capitalism] as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of evils. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy" - Albert Einstein

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    • #3
      Several states have similar laws.None of these states actively enforce these laws because any attempt to do so would certainly be swiftly overturned by the courts.
      Last edited by KingsGambit; 01-10-2017, 11:23 PM.
      "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Starlight View Post
        Because the people in Texas are insane?

        Fun fact: In Norway, the word "texas" was adopted into their language to mean 'insane' or 'completely crazy', due to the popularity of Texan cowboy movies in Norway in the 50s, and it is still a widely used term in Norwegian.
        The Norwegian meaning of Texan just might explain CP - Only jiving you CP
        _______________

        Did you know that in NZ you can be fined $1 million for letting off a nuclear explosions?

        Here is a funny site about real laws.
        http://www.dumblaws.com/law/1641
        _______________

        Here in Oz, the weirdest laws tend to be in Victoria but here in NSW we still have some archaic laws on the statute books. Back when at start of year the NSW law faculty would do some outlandish pranks to bring the silliness to public attention. The pranks seem to have stopped a while back - probably the govt passed some public nuisance legislation.

        For your amusement, here are some of Oz's weirdest laws - both mythical & real...
        http://www.news.com.au/national/cour...1a940f39e07b93

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        • #5
          Originally posted by elam View Post
          The Norwegian meaning of Texan just might explain CP - Only jiving you CP
          _______________

          Did you know that in NZ you can be fined $1 million for letting off a nuclear explosions?
          The easy solution to this is to blow up the courthouse.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by elam View Post
            Did you know that in NZ you can be fined $1 million for letting off a nuclear explosions?
            New Zealand has been a "Nuclear Free Zone" since the 80s. Stationing nuclear weapons here, testing them, and using nuclear power, is banned. The law you cite bans the testing of nuclear weapons, which is something that used to happen in Australia and which France used to do on south-pacific islands within its control.
            "I hate him passionately", he's "a demonic force" - Tucker Carlson, in private, on Donald Trump
            "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism" - George Orwell
            "[Capitalism] as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of evils. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy" - Albert Einstein

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Chrawnus View Post
              The easy solution to this is to blow up the courthouse.
              Ah! That would be counter productive. We'd still have lawyers & politicians (many of whom have legal backgrounds).

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Starlight View Post
                New Zealand has been a "Nuclear Free Zone" since the 80s. Stationing nuclear weapons here, testing them, and using nuclear power, is banned. The law you cite bans the testing of nuclear weapons, which is something that used to happen in Australia and which France used to do on south-pacific islands within its control.
                All very true. But is the law still on the statute books?

                ___________________

                In any case, unless NZ has become very backward in its health systems, nuclear experimentation is still carried out in NZ. Have you not heard of Nuclear Medicine?

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Starlight View Post
                  New Zealand has been a "Nuclear Free Zone" since the 80s. Stationing nuclear weapons here, testing them, and using nuclear power, is banned. The law you cite bans the testing of nuclear weapons, which is something that used to happen in Australia and which France used to do on south-pacific islands within its control.
                  That's too bad, I think NZ would make a great nuclear weapon testing ground.
                  "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." Isaiah 3:12

                  There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by elam View Post
                    All very true. But is the law still on the statute books?
                    Yes, NZ is still nuclear weapon and nuclear power free by law. This continues to cause ongoing problems with our military alliance with the US, because it means their warships cannot dock here.

                    In any case, unless NZ has become very backward in its health systems, nuclear experimentation is still carried out in NZ. Have you not heard of Nuclear Medicine?
                    Radioactive materials can be used in medicine and for scientific research. What is banned is nuclear weapons and nuclear power.
                    "I hate him passionately", he's "a demonic force" - Tucker Carlson, in private, on Donald Trump
                    "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism" - George Orwell
                    "[Capitalism] as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of evils. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy" - Albert Einstein

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by elam
                      ___________________
                      I know you use a lot of these, but they're kinda confusing and ugly to look at. They make it look like most of your post is part of your signature.

                      Originally posted by elam View Post
                      In any case, unless NZ has become very backward in its health systems, nuclear experimentation is still carried out in NZ. Have you not heard of Nuclear Medicine?
                      You don't need nuclear reactors to produce the trace amount of radioactive isotopes used in medical procedures or CAT scans. They're produced readily with a small nuclear accelerator that fits into a device about the size of a refrigerator. Any large scale modern hospital has at least one physicist employed to maintain and run it, as well as other duties where a physicist is useful vis-a-vis modern equipment.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Leonhard View Post
                        I know you use a lot of these, but they're kinda confusing and ugly to look at. They make it look like most of your post is part of your signature.



                        You don't need nuclear reactors to produce the trace amount of radioactive isotopes used in medical procedures or CAT scans. They're produced readily with a small nuclear accelerator that fits into a device about the size of a refrigerator. Any large scale modern hospital has at least one physicist employed to maintain and run it, as well as other duties where a physicist is useful vis-a-vis modern equipment.
                        We have a nuclear facility that produces various types isotopes used in medicine, and I promise you it is a hell of a lot bigger than a refrigerator - more like a couple of blocks of flats. Nuculear waste is a big issue at the facility. Every so often the Greens (political party) organise protests and picket the place - they want it closed down.

                        I presume we export the isotopes to NZ (?) and other countries that don't have equivalent facilities.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by elam View Post
                          [The accuser] is correct that the language [of] the Texas Constitution [prohibits an atheist from holding public office], but that doesn’t mean that an atheist—which, it’s worth reiterating, [the accused] says he is not—is actually barred from holding office in Texas. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, in the No Religious Test Clause, makes clear that restrictions like the one in Texas are unconstitutional.
                          I'm pretty sure the paper is incorrect in this assertion; the No Religious Test Clause only applies to federal office. When the US Constitution was written, it was not at all unusual for states to have religious requirements for holding office, and it was never intended or interpreted (at least in the near term) to prohibit them.
                          Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

                          Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
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                          I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by elam View Post
                            We have a nuclear facility that produces various types isotopes used in medicine, and I promise you it is a hell of a lot bigger than a refrigerator - more like a couple of blocks of flats. Nuculear waste is a big issue at the facility.
                            Well, refrigerator is a bit small of a word. But the one we have sitting a couple of hundred feet from where I'm sitting, is not that big. It's a cyclotron. Looking roughly like this.



                            Here's a list of the type of isotopes it can make, though I think technetium-99 was off the list.

                            http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publica...trs468_web.pdf

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                              I'm pretty sure the paper is incorrect in this assertion; the No Religious Test Clause only applies to federal office. When the US Constitution was written, it was not at all unusual for states to have religious requirements for holding office, and it was never intended or interpreted (at least in the near term) to prohibit them.
                              This is historically accurate.
                              "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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