Kentucky Announces Creationism Theme Park

riverat1 writes "On December first, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced that a creationism theme park is expected to open in 2014. Park developers are seeking state tourism development incentives and could receive up to $37.5 million over a 10-year period. Gov. Steve Beshear said he does not believe the incentives would violate the principle of church-state separation because the 14-year-old tax incentives law wasn’t approved for the purpose of benefiting the Ark Encounter. The park will have a 500 foot replica of the Ark with live animals on it and a Tower of Babel explaining how races and languages developed. The park will be turned over to Answers in Genesis after it is built. They are a non-profit organization which may allow them to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion."

Comments

I wish Maude were alive to see this.

[snookerhog]

she would be proud

will it be built...

[snookerhog]

in 6 days?

I hear a rumor...

[filesiteguy]

...that the park actually evolved from lower forms of parks, each being incrementally better than the previous park.

It is just a rumor.

Hell, no

[KingSkippus]

Not only had this better not see one red penny of taxpayer money, but any public official who says it doesn't violate separation of Church and State should be immediately impeached for not upholding protecting the Constitution.

If people want to build these things and run them with private money, even for a profit, I don't care. But the second you start taking my money to proselytize your religion, I get VERY agitated.

Re:Hell, no

[Foobar of Borg]

Actually, this wouldn't be a violation of the First Amendment. If you recall the text, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; IOTW, there's no law being made here and no prohibition against any other religion other than Judeo-Chritianity in this. (I suppose Muslims are included also, since they read the old testament, I think.) By the way, I agree it is a horrendous idea to include taxpayer dollars, just that it isn't unconstitutional. :P

You fail Constitution Law 101. The key phrase is "respecting an establishment of religion". Allocating money to a theme park requires the use of legislation. If that legislation supports Fundie Evangelical Protestant Christianity, then it violates the first amendment. By giving tax money to the theme park, you would be giving preference to Fundie Evangelical Protestant Christianity over all other forms of Christianity (the literalist interpretation of Genesis being considered a bit bizarre and stupid, even in the early Church), Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on, and so on, and so on.

You can help stop this horseshit

[Anonymous Coward]

Join FFRF.

Re:So what?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because this park doesn't claim to be fantasy.

Oh please oh please

[blair1q]

let it be built in a flood zone.

Re:I hate Kentucky

[eln]

To be fair, there's no evidence at all that evolution has ever occurred in Kentucky.

Theme Parks

[oskard]

Don't they only build theme parks for things that are fantas - Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.

Re:i'm impressed

[eln]

The taxpayers had no choice but to give their tax money to the state. The state has chosen to use this money to fund a theme park with the clear motivation of putting forth a particular set of religious beliefs. Hence, the taxpayer is being forced to fund religious teachings that he may or may not believe in. This is in violation of both the US Constitution and the Kentucky Constitution.

Re:i'm impressed

[mal3]

I agree with you. They're not only creating jobs, they're creating jobs for stupid people, which is the hardest kind of job to create.