Antievolution bills on the New Hampshire horizon

Antievolution bills are on the horizon in New Hampshire. Included on a list (PDF) of legislative service requests dated June 14, 2011, are two requests to have antievolution bills drafted for the 2012 legislative session. LSR 2012-H-2176-R, submitted by Jerry Bergevin (R-District 17), asks for a bill "requiring the teaching of evolution in public schools as a theory"; LSR 2012-H-2320-R, submitted by Gary Hopper (R-District 7), asks for a bill "requiring instruction in intelligent design in the public schools." No bills mentioning evolution or "creation science" or "intelligent design" have been introduced in the New Hampshire legislature from 1989 to 2011. For what it's worth, in the recent Miss USA pageant — in which competitors were asked, "Should evolution be taught in schools?” — Miss New Hampshire endorsed teaching evolution but added, "it shouldn't be the only point of view taught." For a discussion of the range of answers, see the report on USA Today's Faith & Reason blog (June 20, 2011).