Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Associated Press reports:
The Alabama Senate has voted to allow a church to form its own police force. Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 24-4 to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to establish a law enforcement department.
The church says it needs its own police officers to keep its school as well as its more than 4,000 person congregation safe. Critics of the bill argue that a police department that reports to church officials could be used to cover up crimes.
The state has given a few private universities the authority to have a police force, but never a church or non-school entity. Police experts have said such a police department would be unprecedented in the U.S.
The Senate version of the bill was sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner [photo] and the state House is due to hear the bill today.
Hemant Mehta rants at The Friendly Atheist:
Does the state have authority over this police force, especially if something goes wrong? If they do, are they getting entangled in a church matter? If the police act unlawfully, despite the required training, who has the power to discipline them?
Can any religious institution demand its own police force? Do the police have to sign statements of faith, pledging their agreement with the church’s beliefs? Can citizens challenge what these cops do? Can they take them to court? Why can’t the church, like every other organization, just ask for protection when needed?
RELATED: Last year Saudi Arabia stripped its infamous religious police force of the power to make arrests. Instead, officers have been advised to enforce Sharia rules “kindly and gently.”