The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 27, 2001, Tuesday, Pg. A6

HEADLINE: Lawmaker intends to revive bill listing evolution as theory

BYLINE: SETH BLOMELEY, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, @Private:, @Caption:,
@Correction:

The author of bill requiring evolution to be described as a theory in
Arkansas classrooms said Monday that he'll bring the bill before the House
again.Rep. Jim Holt, R-Springdale, said he's willing to remove some of the
definitions his House Bill 2548 says are false, such as the "Homo erectus"
prehistoric human.
"It's not over," Holt said. "I really feel victimized [by the media]. When
you deal with evolution, it's almost like you're dealing with a sacred
cow."
He said he may bring it up again this week.
House Speaker Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, said he hasn't heard of any
representatives willing to change their votes on the subject. Broadway
also said he's against it.
"You've got to give some freedom to those doing the teaching and give the
teachers the latitude to talk about those things," Broadway said. "Some of
the members say, 'We don't need this. It'll make us the laughingstock.' "
If it passes the House, the bill would face a rocky hearing in the Senate.
Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Beebe, D-Searcy, said Friday that he
doubts it would pass the upper chamber.
The bill received 45 "yes" votes in the House on Friday with 36 voting
"no" and 12 "present." Broadway said he doesn't know of six more members
willing to vote "yes" to pass the bill.
The bill requires teachers to label evolution as a theory. If any item
stated in a list of "false evidences" in the bill appears in a textbook,
the teacher must tell the students it is false.
Holt, a creationist and counselor at a youth reform center, insisted his
bill was not about the beginning of life. He couched it as a bill that
would eliminate lies from schools.
"I feel like I've been pigeon-holed," Holt said.
But the bill addresses no theories or alleged scientific falsities other
than evolution or the age of the earth, an issue in the evolution/creation
debate, nor does it mention any other study such as history or economics.
"This is my area of expertise," Holt said. "My major in college was
science and pre-med. I don't know much about astronomy. My love is for science,
and I'm starting to get that way in history. I actually did have a bill
addressing the [false] history issues, but I didn't have enough time to
run it. I have to do more homework on that."
He said he drafted the bill with the help of Kent Hovind of Pensacola,
Fla., a former biology teacher who became disgusted with pro-evolution
textbooks, so he quit the profession. A creationist, he now lectures at
churches and before lawmakers about the textbooks.
Holt said he also used the book Icons of Evolution by Jonathan Wells. He
said Wells is an evolutionist but found numerous examples of faulty
evidence used to prove evolution. Holt includes these in his bill.
Holt said he believes the examples of scientific falsities he mentions in
his bill are taught in public schools throughout Arkansas, but he could
name only systems in Conway, Siloam Springs, Springdale and Fort Smith.
The text being used, Holt said, is a biology textbook published by
McGraw-Hill.
Of the 15 alleged falsities Holt cites, "Nebraska Man," which the bill
says was derived from the tooth of a pig, may not be used in Arkansas but was
included just in case it was being used, he said.
In 1982, a federal court struck down an Arkansas law requiring creationism
to be taught if evolution were taught. In 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court
struck down an Arkansas initiated act banning the teaching of evolution.

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