Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation Monday that would have prohibited judges from considering Sharia, or Islamic law, in their decisions.
Missouri would have become the seventh state to enact a law based on David Yerushalmi’s American Laws for American Courts model legislation. Similar bills are awaiting votes in the Texas and North Carolina legislatures.
Nixon said he vetoed the bill because of possible interferences with foreign adoptions. In the past, he has also called the bill unnecessary.
The bill was introduced by Republican State Sen. Brian Nieves, a staunch anti-immigrant legislator and member of the State Legislators for Legal Immigration, a coalition of lawmakers affiliated with other anti-immigrant groups. He also proposed an amendment to the state constitution last year calling for Missouri to secede from the United States.
Nieves could try to override Nixon’s veto, which would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers.
Anti-Muslim blogs, including Atlas Shrugs and BareNaked Islam have criticized Nixon for his veto, calling the act “traitorous.”