#1284: Bill Zedler

Oh, the state representatives, again. Bill Zedler is a Texas state representative (R-District 96), and he is, at least for our purposes, most famous for being the sponsor of various creationist bills, including House Bill 2454 (introduced in 2011), which – if it had been enacted – would have ensured that “[a]n institution of higher education may not discriminate against or penalize in any manner, especially with regard to employment or academic support, a faculty member or student based on the faculty member’s or student’s conduct of research relating to the theory of intelligent design or other alternate theories of the origination and development of organisms,” and HB 285 (in 2013), with a similar (identical) purpose. The contents of both bills were borrowed straight from the Discovery Institute’s bogus Academic Freedom campaigns. Zedler is of course himself a creationist, being very impressed by Hoyle’s fallacy and failing utterly to grasp that the mechanism of evolution is not “random chance”. The WND was at least a staunch supporter of Zedler’s bills.

In general, Zedler, who otherwise serves on the Advisory Board of the Arlington Pregnancy Center (not a center for health advice) and has been an Elder at Park Springs Bible Church, is a reliable vote for the religious right agenda, including anti-gay legislation. He has himself proposed legislation (failed) requiring that doctors report to the state information on patients who suffer from complications due to abortions (hard to justify on other grounds than as an attempt to intimidate), and a 2007 bill that would establish so-called “covenant” marriages under state law. Although such unions would be voluntary, license fees for covenant marriages would cost less than those for traditional marriages. Couples in a covenant marriage would be prohibited from terminating that marriage unless, after counseling, both parties agreed – such marriages are, in other words, not intended to help victims of abusive relationships. Zedler has also proposed requiring a license for strippers (must be visibly displayed while dancing), and to defund LGBT resource centers on college campuses in the state, alleging that they promote and support “high risk behavior for AIDS, HIV, Hepatitis B, and any sexually transmitted disease” (he lost that one, though).

Diagnosis: Typical fundamentalist idiot, engaging in the typical fundamentalist fight against freedom, civilization and truth based on all the usual delusions, misconceptions and tortured attempts to redescribe the battle as being about something else than it is actually about since he dimly, deep down seems to realize that it really is about combatting decency, civilization and freedom.