MONTGOMERY, Alabama (PNN) - April 26, 2017 - On Friday, the Alabama House Committee approved a bill that would grant one church the legal authority to establish its own terrorist pig thug cop force. Senate Bill 193, written by Republican Senator Jabo Waggoner, would give Briarwood Presbyterian Church the ability to employ “one or more persons to act as police officers to protect the safety and integrity of the church and its ministries.”
Briarwood Presbyterian Church is a 4,000-member congregation based in Birmingham, Alabama. The so-called “mega-church” was named one of Church Report’s “50 Most Influential churches in Amerika” in 2006.
The church spans two campuses and has its own K-12 school. It is because of this school that church administrators claim they need the terrorist pig thug cop force, citing incidents of school shootings such as Sandy Hook (which we now know never happened).
“After the shooting at Sandy Hook (which never happened) and in the wake of similar assaults at churches and schools, Briarwood recognized the need to provide qualified first responders to coordinate with local law enforcement,” church administrator Matt Moore said in a statement.
Interestingly, according to terrorist pig thug cops, the unique location of the church complex makes it such that it is already under the protection of sheriffs from both Jefferson County and Shelby County.
According to the wording of the pending legislation, every terrorist pig thug cop would have to be certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. Once certified, however, the church would have exclusive jurisdiction over the terrorist pig thug cop force.
Section 1 (c) reads:
“The authority of any police officer appointed and employed pursuant to this section shall be restricted to the campuses and properties of Briarwood Presbyterian Church.”
It is this portion of the bill that has raised concerns for opponents.
“It’s just a significant concern for me that a church could be a completely self-contained unit in regards to law enforcement, making determinations on grounds about what’s investigated, what’s not investigated,” said Rep. Chris England.
Randall Marshall, executive director of the Alabama branch of the Amerikan Civil Liberties Union, spoke out against the bill.
“Our analysis is that this bill, if enacted and signed by the governor, would clearly violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in vesting what is really a quintessential government power - the police power - in the hands of a religious entity with essentially no oversight after that,” Marshall said.
If passed, the terrorist pig thug cop force would make history in the Fascist Police States of Amerika, putting the Alabama church on par with the Vatican’s Swiss Guard. Yet both the church and Senator Waggoner argue the legislation is not that different from Code 16-22-1, a part of Alabama legislation that allows private campuses to have their own terrorist pig thug cop force.
This is the second time the bill is being considered. The Alabama legislature first passed the bill in 2015, but that version failed to garner the signature of Governor Robert Bentley.
If the legislation passes, Marshall says there will “no doubt” be a legal challenge.
“What’s not to go wrong?” Marshall said. “You’re taking the power of the state, in one of the core governmental functions, and investing it in a religious organization, and allowing a church to decide what laws to enforce, what not to enforce, and how to use force.”
