Oppose S2134: Stop a Permanent Muslim Commission

Massachusetts state Senator James B. Eldridge (D-Middlesex and Worcester) has introduced S2134, “An Act promoting the civil rights and inclusion of American Muslims in the commonwealth.” Co-sponsored by Senator Vanna Howard (D-17th Middlesex) and twelve other legislators, the bill would establish a permanent, taxpayer-funded “commission on the status of people who practice Islam.”

Under the legislation, commission members must have “demonstrated a commitment to the Muslim American community.” The commission is directed to “identify and recommend qualified American Muslims for appointive positions at all levels of government, including boards and commissions, as the commission considers necessary and appropriate.” It would also report on trends and data related to “Islamophobia and discrimination,” assess state agencies’ impact on American Muslims, and advise on proposed legislation.

This permanent government body charged with advancing the interests of one specific religious group and placing its adherents into public positions violates the principle of equal protection under the law, protected by the Fifth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. A state commission whose statutory purpose includes recommending members of any identity-based group for government appointments undermines our nation’s founding principles. As with woke commissions for other groups that exist in many states, or laws requiring gender or racial balance in the membership of commissions, S2134 treats citizens as members of a preferred group rather than as individuals.

Public office and government appointments must be based on individual merit and equal treatment of all citizens, not group identities. When a state creates permanent bodies charged with promoting the interests of particular groups and placing their members into government positions, it replaces equal citizenship with group privilege. A permanent commission undermines the foundational American principle that government exists to protect the rights of individuals, not elevate particular communities.

State commissions also undermine the republican form of government guaranteed by Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. As The New American reported:

[Commissions] are an example of technocracy — that is, central planning under the rule of elites and “experts.” … Technocracy and democracy are incompatible with America’s republican form of government — and both ultimately lead to oligarchy….

State bureaucracies often operate independently of — or contrary to — state legislatures. Atwood, in Back to the Republic, criticized the states for “appointing boards and commissions, and creating other agencies that merely result in … confusing governmental procedure.”

Contact your state legislators, and urge them to reject S2134 and ensure a republican form of government and equal treatment under the law for every citizen.