South Dakota State Senator Jeff Monroe put down his own bill that would have allowed teachers to teach and discuss intelligent design in the classroom. Monroe says the idea is right, and that he wants students to be able to hear both sides of the story, but he says there were just too many misconceptions about what the bill would do.
“Even though it was a good bill, and had tons of support, I think that the good that would have come from it would have been outweighed by the trouble that it would have caused.”
Monroe feared that there would have been lawsuits involved with the state, as there has been in other states when battling this issue. He believes the bill should have been written more generally, encompassing more, instead of narrowed down to just the one topic.
“It has to be done differently” Monroe says. It will now take time to rework a new bill and nothing will come to fruition until at least next year. But Monroe says someone will take this up, and if he is still there himself next year, will continue to fight for this issue that so many believe in.