Missouri governor vetoes ‘anti-Sharia’ bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s governor vetoed legislation June 3 that some were calling an anti-Sharia law bill, keeping Missouri from becoming the seventh state to prohibit judges from considering foreign laws — including Islamic law — in their decisions. The legislation, Senate Bill 267, passed both chambers in May to create a Civil Liberties Defense Act mandating that any court, arbitration, tribunal or administrative agency ruling would be unenforceable if based on a foreign law that is “repugnant or inconsistent with” the Missouri and U.S. constitutions.

While supporters said it would prohibit unforeseen invasions of Sharia law, the legislation did not specifically mention the Islamic legal tradition. It also exempted corporations that have agreed to abide by foreign laws.

Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, said he vetoed the bill because it “seeks to introduce a solution to a problem that does not exist and, in so doing, puts in jeopardy some of the very liberties that the bill purports to protect.” What drew the most attention from the governor’s veto explanation was his contention that it would have “a chilling effect on foreign adoptions.”