Third attempted repeal of the “Louisiana Science Education Act” [View all]

[liberal N proud]

In 2008, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed the “Louisiana Science Education Act” into law. This Orwellian-named bit of legislation was an outrageous attempt to allow creationism to be taught in schools. Jindal has essentially admitted as much.



Outrageous, yes. Damaging to the state, yes. Unconstitutional, absolutely. But it passed.


Since then, Zack Kopplin (a 19-year-old Rice University student) has been fighting to get it repealed. He’s had a lot of help: Louisiana State Senator Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans), 78 Nobel laureates, the city council of New Orleans, and Slate magazine. And many more, including me (many many many times). Even the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute thinks it’s a terrible law. Because it is.

Why one legislator voted against the repeal:

Sen. Elbert Guillory, D-Opelousas, said he had reservations with repealing the act after a spiritual healer correctly diagnosed a specific medical ailment he had. He said he thought repealing the act could "lock the door on being able to view ideas from many places, concepts from many cultures."


“Yet if I closed my mind when I saw this man—in the dust, throwing some bones on the ground, semi-clothed—if I had closed him off and just said, ‘That's not science. I'm not going to see this doctor,’ I would have shut off a very good experience for myself,” Guillory said.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/05/05/louisiana_and_creationism_law_allowing_religion_to_be_taught_in_school_survives.html