This fits with our discussion of civil liberties in Texas.
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Freshman Democratic Rep. Salman Bhojani, one of the state's first Muslim legislators, on Tuesday unveiled three bills he has filed that aim to improve the ability of Texans of all faiths to practice their religions.
The bills, which have bipartisan support in the Texas House, would expand the state’s list of optional holidays to include additional religious holy days, prevent STAAR tests and end-of-course exams from being held on religious holidays, and clarify that religious leaders of all faiths are authorized to perform marriages.
“Religious freedom is one of the most important and fundamental rights guaranteed to us in our Constitution. It's more than just the right to worship; it’s the right to dignity and autonomy for every person,” said Bhojani, D-Euless. “As legislators, it is our duty to ensure that Texas is the religious freedom state, where we can practice our faith with pride, where we can pray in a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, jamatkhana or gurdwara, where we can love God by any name.”
In a news conference Tuesday, Bhojani was joined by fellow freshman Rep. Suleman Lalani, who along with Bhojani are the first two Muslim lawmakers to be elected to the Texas House, to tout the bills. Rep. Jacey Jetton, a Republican from Richmond who is Christian, joined the conference to show bipartisan support for the legislation.
“We're here to celebrate togetherness; we are here to show that when we stand united we can do a lot of things," said Lalani, D-Sugar Land. "Together, we can make Texas the land of the free and the home of all faith."
“The diversity of Texas is both within our nationalities but also with our religions, with our backgrounds – it all can be celebrated, and should be celebrated,” said Jetton. “These are steps forward to ensure that everyone from all backgrounds, all religious faiths, are able to worship here in Texas.”
House Bill 1882 would add All Saints Day, Diwali (a Hindu holiday), Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Passover, Vaisakhi (a Sikh holiday) and Vesak (a Buddhist holiday) to the state’s list of optional holidays, which currently only includes Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday.
House Bill 1883 would prohibit the State Board of Education from administering state tests like the STAAR test and end-of-course exams on religious holidays.
According to current state law, Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis and “a person who is an officer of a religious organization and is authorized by the organization” can legally officiate marriages in Texas.
House Bill 1884 removes the language specifying Christian ministers and Jewish rabbis from the law, with the intent of clarifying that religious leaders of any faith are authorized to perform marriages.
Last legislative session, a bill identical to HB 1884 and another bill that added Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, both Muslim holidays, to the state’s list of optional holidays passed out of the House with broad bipartisan support but did not make it out of the Senate.
Jetton has also filed two bills this session that are similar to Bhojani’s:
HB 373 would add Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and one day of Diwali to the state’s list of optional holidays.
HB 1212 would instruct schools to accept a note from a student’s parent, rather than requiring documentation from a religious leader, to excuse a student’s absence to observe a religious holiday.
Freshman Rep. Charles Cunningham, a Republican from the Houston area, several House Democrats and religious leaders also attended the news conference Tuesday.
Rabbi Kelly Levy, a leader at the Reform synagogue Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, shared her experience growing up Jewish in Texas and having to fight to receive excused absences when she missed school for Jewish holidays.
“As a mother to a kindergarten student, I now know what it's like to explain repeatedly why my 6-year-old missed school for the High Holy Days, and why it is, in fact, an excused absence,” Levy said. “We cannot continue to allow our students of multifaith backgrounds to feel othered anymore in this state.”
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TLO: House Bill 373.
TLO: House Bill 1212.
TLO: House Bill 1882.
TLO: House Bill 1883.
TLO: House Bill 1884.
