On Sunday, April 13, 2014 9:37:51 AM UTC-4, F*O*A*D wrote:
Holy Bible clears first hurdle to becoming Louisiana's official state book



Legislation that would make the Holy Bible the official state book of

Louisiana cleared the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and

Cultural Affairs with a vote of 8-5 Thursday afternoon. It will now head

to the full House of Representatives for consideration.



Rep. Thomas Carmody, R-Shreveport, originally filed a bill to declare a

specific copy of the Bible, found in the Louisiana State Museum system,

the official state book. But by the time he presented the proposal to

the committee, he changed language in his legislation to make the

generic King James version of the Bible, a text used worldwide, the

official state book.



Carmody said his intention was not to mingle religion with government

functions. "This is not about establishing an official religion," he said.



Still, Legislators became concerned that the proposal wasn't broad

enough and did not reflect the breadth of Bibles used by religious

communities. In particular, some lawmakers worried that singling out the

King James version of the Bible would not properly reflect the culture

of Louisiana. The Catholic Church, for example, does not use the King

James text.



"Let's make this more inclusive of other Christian faiths, more than

just the ones that use the King James version," said Rep. Stephen

Ortego, D-Carencro.



A few committee members fought the bill vehemently, saying the

legislation was likely to upset some citizens who are not Christian and

open the state up to legal challenges.



"I am so bothered by this bill that I just called my pastor. My pastor

just said that he thinks we are going to have a legal problem," said

Rep. Wesley Bishop, D-New Orleans, who voted against the legislation.



Rep. Ebony Woodruff, D-Harvey, tried to amend the bill to declare "all

books of faith" the official state books of Louisiana, but the proposal

failed 5-8. When asked if he would be open to making "all books of

faith" a group of official state books, Carmody was fairly adamant in

his opposition.



"I would certainly be against that amendment," he said.



The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana already has concerns

about the bill. "[The official state book] ought to be one that relates

to the history of Louisiana and not one that is going to discriminate

against a large number of Louisianans," said Majorie Esman, executive

director of the organization. Esman declined to say whether the ACLU

would fight the Holy Bible designation in court if it became law.



Michael Weil, who heads up the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans,

said his organization -- which is cultural and not religious in nature

-- hasn't take a stance on the bill. But the legislation gives him some

personal pause.



"I think the state should consider a text that is not religious," he said.



http://tinyurl.com/obsekbg



Perhaps "Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest" should be the "state text" of

Louisiana, although the state adopting a work of fiction as its state

book does seem mildly appropriate.

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