BATON ROUGE, La. – PRAISE GOD! Let us pray for passage! Lawmakers are moving ahead with a proposal to name the Bible as Louisiana’s official state book, despite concerns the bill would land the Legislature in court.
A House municipal committee advanced the bill Thursday with an 8-5 vote.
Republican state Rep. Thomas Carmody, of Shreveport, says he sponsored the proposal after a constituent made the request. But Carmody insisted the bill wasn’t designed to be a state-endorsement of Christianity or a specific religion.
Lawmakers who voted against the measure say it raises questions about whether Louisiana would be violating separation of church and state.
State Rep. Wesley Bishop, a Democrat from New Orleans, opposed the bill. He says as a preacher’s son, he loved the concept. But he says as a lawyer, he thinks it would open the state to lawsuits.
