Religiously Insecure/Oppressive OK Legislator Wants To Plaster The Ten Commandments All Over Public Schools

This week, Oklahoma legislator Rep. Jim Olsen (R-Roland) filed a bill that would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in a conspicuous place in all public school classrooms. Why?

Probably because the United States is becoming increasingly irreligious and less Christian overall and Olsen is afraid that if the children are not indoctrinated to believe at a young age, it will be harder to sell it to them later on in life. He doesn’t want to be lonely!

The bill also requires that the posters be in legible print and at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall.

In normal times, we might be able to safely assume that the Supreme Court of the United States would prohibit such a bill from going into effect, given how extremely unconstitutional it is. But these are strange times, with a strange Supreme Court that has previously ruled in favor of a public school football coach who was imposing prayer on his players and seems to believe that the establishment clause is for decorative purposes only. So we really can’t say! The bill is likely meant to see just how far the Supreme Court is willing to go in terms of allowing for state-enforced religion, much like a similar bill that failed in Texas earlier this year.

Activists in the state of Oklahoma are hoping to open public Christian schools as well, not that that’s horrifying or anything.

Previously, Olsen successfully convinced a majority of legislators to vote against banning corporal punishment for disabled and special needs students in schools, on the ground that it would be going against the Bible. Because the Bible is all “Spare the rod, spoil the child who is already sitting in a wheelchair!” It does seem worth noting, however, that while schools are required to get parental permission to beat special needs children, they are not required to get it to spank other children. Curious how these “parental rights” groups are not upset about that (though in fairness, it’s hardly as though anyone would think spanking or paddling is at all sexual).

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And that’s not all!

Via Fox 25:

Rep. Olsen also pushed for open carry at the Oklahoma State Fair days after a shooting critically injured one person in September 2023.

Rep. Olsen also has strong opinions on abortion, comparing the medical procedure to slavery in 2021. He’s also voted against bills to loosen abortion restrictions and to protect the right to contraception in Oklahoma.

He also proposed a bill in 2021 to strengthen Oklahoma’s so-called Critical Race Theory ban.

And how bad was that bill, exactly? So bad! It would have barred:

• Any teaching that America has more culpability, in general, than other nations for the institution of slavery.

• That one race is the unique oppressor in the institution of slavery.

• That another race is the unique victim in the institution of slavery.

• That America, in general, had slavery more extensively and for a later period of time than other nations.

• The primary and overarching purpose for the founding of America was the initiation and perpetuation of slavery.

Yes. He would allow teachers to teach that slavery happened, sure, but not that it was done to Black people by white people, or other things that are objectively true.

Clearly, Jim Olsen is a very delicate flower of a person who needs to live in a world where everyone shares his religion and is willing to warp history in order to make him feel good. So … he’ll probably be running for president in the next few years.

OPEN THREAD!