Gingrich Calls For Banning Shariah Law

by Stuart Shapiro

The Values Voter Summit is always good for hearing Republican presidential aspirants at their looniest.  Newt Gingrich proposed forbidding the use of Shariah law in U.S. courtrooms.

“We should have a federal law that says sharia law cannot be recognized by any court in the United States,” Gingrich said to a standing ovation from the audience. The law will let judges know, Gingrich said, that “no judge will remain in office that tried to use sharia law.

What does that even mean?  Can judges now order stoning?  Is Jihad an acceptable defense in U.S. courts?  I must have missed all of this.  I thought judges had to follow U.S. law already.  While we are banning the use of Shariah law, maybe we can ban the Code of Hammurabi and forbid courts from invoking the divine right of kings in their decisions.

(The proposal only led to a 4th place finish for Newt in the Values Voter Straw Poll.  Mike Pence was the lucky winner.)

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.