Democratic House Members Attempt To Settle Scientific Debates and Establish Holiday for Charles Darwin

News provided by

Feb 03, 2014, 04:01 ET

SEATTLE, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three House Democrats have attempted to settle the on-going scientific debates about Darwinian evolution and global warming by Congressional fiat, according to Discovery Institute.

In House Resolution 467, Reps. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Mike Honda (D-Calif.), H.Res. 467 declare that "Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, together with the monumental amount of scientific evidence he compiled to support it, provides humanity with a logical and intellectually compelling explanation for the diversity of life on Earth." The resolution adds that the validity of Darwin's theory of natural selection is "strongly supported by the modern understanding of the science of genetics."

"This resolution represents a clear example of ideological posturing and Congressional overreach," said Stephen Meyer, author of the New York Times bestselling book Darwin's Doubt (www.darwinsdoubt.com). "It also betrays a clear ignorance of the current status of modern Darwinian theory, which is now being questioned by many scientists, including many evolutionary biologists, precisely because it does not explain the genetic information necessary to build new forms of life."

The resolution also condemns those scientists who have questioned global warming and insists science "must be protected from those unconcerned with the adverse impacts of global warming and climate change."

"Science doesn't need this kind of protection," say geologist Casey Luskin, a science education policy analyst at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. "The practice of science depends upon the free and open exchange of ideas. Insulating scientific theories from criticism just turns them into protected ideologies."

And advancing Darwinian theory as a protected ideology seems to be precisely what these House Democrats have in mind. Their resolution also calls for officially designating February 12^th, the anniversary of Darwin's birth in 1809, as "Darwin Day." Last year, five additional House Democrats: Reps. Mike Capuano (Mass.), Jared Polis (Colo.), Charles Rangel (N.Y.), Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) and now-Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.) voted for a similar resolution.

SOURCE Discovery Institute