By The Associated Press

The debate in the South Carolina House over a bill prohibiting courts from enforcing foreign law in the state will continue next week.

Rep. Chip Limehouse suspended debate on his bill Thursday afternoon after realizing his margin in winning procedural votes was slipping. The Charleston Republican says the proposal will have a better chance next Tuesday. The debate went on for nearly three hours – one of the longest debates of the year.

Limehouse says preventing judges from using laws based in Islam can protect America.

Opponents of the bill like Republican Rep. Gary Clary say it solves a problem that doesn’t exist. The retired judge from Central says the state and U.S. constitutions assure no court can ever use foreign law and the debate was a waste of time.