Yesterday the Tennessee General Assembly
passed HB615, designating the Holy Bible as the state's "official book."
AP reports:
Sponsors argue the bill seeks to honor the historical significance of the Bible in Tennessee's history rather than serving as a government endorsement of religion.
But opponents say the measure trivializes the Bible by placing it alongside other Tennessee symbols like the small mouth bass as the state sport fish, the cave salamander as the state amphibian and the honeybee as the state agricultural insect.
The state's Attorney General in an Opinion issued in April (
full text) concluded that the bill is unconstitutional, and Governor Bill Haslam has expressed doubts about the bill. It is unclear whether or not he will veto it.
