Bob Vander Plaats, the leader of the arch-conservative group that seeks to, among other things, ban pornography, outlaw same-sex marriage, and honor the virtues of slavery, also has his sights set on Sharia Law.
Mister Plaats of the Family Leader organization may have dealt himself a set-back though in an interview with Salon where he admits that he has only a "brief knowledge" of Sharia law
"Well, Sharia Islam -- and I'm not an expert on Sharia Islam -- but I think just in the brief knowledge [I have] of Sharia Islam, one you can have multiple wives, and two is you can have temporary wives, and three is I think it disrespects women as a whole," he told Elliott. "And so we see Sharia Islam as being an issue."
If you want people to take you seriously, you should probably avoid admitting that you have no idea what you're talking about. And by his own admission, Plaats is not an expert, but he's still more than willing to turn a non-existent threat into an issue which must be confronted by presidential candidates in the name of family values.
I would ask the question -- will anyone fall for it? But we already know the answer to that.
Very serious Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum have already signed Plaats' pledge. Newt Gingrich considered signing it, but he's currently mired in negotiations over the exact language of the marriage vows.
By the way, if disrespecting women is one of your reasons for seeking to ban Sharia Law, why does The Pledge also seek to outlaw a woman's right to chose to get an abortion? Telling women they can't decide for themselves -- just like Sharia Law -- seems awfully disrespectful to me.
Why should the very real threat of Evangelical Law get a pass while the non-existent threat of Sharia Law is demonized?