I'm not sure whether the Louisiana legislature deserves a reaming, a reacharound, or some combination thereof. In a matter of days, they've demonstrated startlingly progressive ideals on the one hand, countered by disastrously misguided social policy on the other:
PANEL BACKS BAN ON BIAS IN STATE JOBS
Homosexual and bisexual state workers would win new employment protection under a bill approved by a House panel Tuesday despite charges that the measure is part of a political agenda promoted by homosexuals.
-- from The Advocate
REJECT BAN ON CONDOMS
It is difficult to understand how the Louisiana House of Representatives would eliminate, without discussion or debate, the state's cheapest activity to prevent a terminal and tragic but preventable disease [ed. note: not to mention unwanted pregnancies].
But that's what happened when lawmakers adopted an amendment to the state budget offered by Rep. Gary Beard, R-Baton Rouge. It forbids the Office of Public Health from using federal dollars to buy and distribute condoms.
-- also from The Advocate
So, did someone drop schizo germs in the Capitol Hill water supply? Did my super-secret mind-control ray finally start to work (at least on half of the House)? Or did all the real legislators high-tail it to Vegas for the week, leaving a horde of malfunctioning robot clones in their stead?
Then again, maybe this is just the legislature's way of saying, "Discriminating against homos in the workplace isn't cost-effective. We'll get the job done much faster if we simply help them kill themselves."
And BTW, no, I don't make a habit of reading The Advocate. I do, however, subscribe to the daily newsletter from the Coalition for Louisiana Progress. Perhaps you should, too.
