Louisiana lawmaker withdraws bill to make the Bible the official state book

After proposing a bill that would designate the Holy Bible as the official state book of Louisiana, the news story quickly went viral and sparked a lot of well-deserved objections.

Now Louisiana lawmakers are dropping the bill because it has become a "distraction:"

Rep. Thomas Carmody, (R-Shreveport), scrapped his proposal to make the Holy Bible the official state book before it could go to a full vote of the state House of Representatives Monday evening. The bill had become a distraction, he said.

In introducing the legislation, Carmody always maintained he was not taking steps to establish a state religion, but rather to educate people. Critics have accused him of foisting faith inappropriately into the government sphere. Others thought such a designation would trivialize the Bible and its importance.

Let's hope Rep. Carmody and other lawmakers nationwide realize that as long as states like Louisiana have abysmal high school graduation rates, high poverty (the second highest in the nation), and crumbling infrastructure, all bills like this are nothing but absurd, time-wasting distractions from the real needs of the people.