The American Institute of Biological Sciences denounced Tennessee's "monkey bills" — House Bill 368 and Senate Bill 893 — as "bad for science, science education, and the future economic health of well being of Tennessee" in letters sent to the leadership of the Tennessee General Assembly (PDF) and to Governor Bill Haslam (PDF).
"It is important to note that there is no scientific controversy about the legitimacy of evolution or global climate change," the letters explained, adding, "These scientific concepts have repeatedly been tested and grown stronger with each evaluation. Any controversy around these concepts is political, not scientific."
The letters concluded, "As the nation struggles to reignite our economy and prepare our children for the jobs of the 21st century, we should be working to strengthen our science education system — not insert non-scientific concepts into the classroom to placate political special interests."
AIBS also issued an action alert encouraging people in Tennessee to urge their state representatives and the governor to oppose HB 368 and SB 893. AIBS is a professional society whose approximately 160 member organizations represent the breadth of the biological sciences and have a combined membership of nearly 250,000 scientists and science educators.