Tennessee drops Bible-as-state-book bill

Tennessee Senate leader Ron Ramsey was among the opponents of a bill to make the Bible the state book. The bill was sent back to a Senate committee Thursday in Nashville.
Tennessee Senate leader Ron Ramsey was among the opponents of a bill to make the Bible the state book. The bill was sent back to a Senate committee Thursday in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A plan to make the Bible the official state book in Tennessee derailed Thursday when the Republican-controlled Senate sent the measure back to a committee, effectively killing it this year.

The bill has divided Republicans in conservative Tennessee. Some say the Bible is far too sacred to be deemed an "official state book." Conversely, others believe it's an integral part of the state's history.

Tennessee's attorney general, Herbert Slatery, warned in a legal opinion earlier this week that the bill would violate separation of church and state provisions of both the federal and state constitutions. Similar worries about proposals in Mississippi and Louisiana caused lawmakers there to drop measures in recent years.

Despite those problems, House lawmakers on Wednesday voted 55-38 in favor of the plan. On Thursday, the proposal was derailed when the Senate voted 22-9 to send it back to a committee that has been closed.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, one of the state's most powerful legislators, said Thursday that the constitutional concerns were the main reason for sending the bill back to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which could take up the bill next year.

"We debated it, but never talked about the legal issues," he said. "The attorney general's opinion raises legal issues that were not discussed."

Other opponents worried about putting the Bible on par with innocuous state symbols, which are listed in the Tennessee Blue Book, the definitive almanac of state government.

Tennessee's official state symbols include the tomato as the state fruit, the tulip poplar as the state tree, the Tennessee cave salamander as the state amphibian and the square dance as the state folk dance. The state also has several state songs such as "Tennessee Waltz" and "Rocky Top." All are listed in the Tennessee Blue Book.

"We don't need to put the Bible beside salamanders, tulip poplars and 'Rocky Top' in the Tennessee Blue Book to appreciate its importance to our state," Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said in a statement.

Gov. Bill Haslam and House Speaker Beth Harwell, both Republicans, were also against it.

"I think it is unconstitutional and ... I really think it demeans the holy word of God by making it just a book with historical significance," the speaker said.

Democratic Rep. Johnny Shaw, a pastor, said the legislation made him uncomfortable, but for political reasons, he found it difficult not to support.

"It was hard for me to say I won't sign a piece of legislation to make the Bible the state book," he said.

Religion has surfaced as a point of contention in the state Legislature before.

In 2011, a bill was proposed to make it a felony to follow some versions of the Islamic code known as Sharia. It would have given the state's attorney general authority to designate an entity a "Sharia organization" if he found the group knowingly adhered to Sharia.

Muslims feared the measure was too broad and that it would outlaw central tenets of Islam, such as praying five times a day toward Mecca, abstaining from alcohol or fasting for Ramadan.

That legislation was amended to strip out any reference to a specific religion and it passed.

The Senate sponsor of the Bible proposal made one last-ditch plea Thursday for his colleagues not to kill the bill, to no avail.

"My purpose for bringing this legislation is to memorialize the role ... the Bible has played in Tennessee's history," Sen. Steve Southerland said.

A Section on 04/17/2015

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