Just a few weeks after mainstream media covered the infamous Arizona discrimination law proposal that bombarded the nation into an equality-based debate, Louisiana legislators seeking to name the Bible as the state’s official book falls flat as a controversial hot topic.
Not because it’s an unimportant topic, but because the public is ignoring the problem. 
Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody drafted Louisiana House Bill 503, which proposes to name the Holy Bible published by Johannes Prevel – the oldest edition in the state – as the official state book.

Opposers of Carmody’s bill claim that naming the Bible an official document would be a backhanded way to make Christianity Louisiana’s official religion.
Supporters of the bill claim that as one of the oldest books in Louisiana, it would be a great symbol to the state’s history, while also promoting a moral Louisiana.
As for me, I’m standing in the corner of the room, laughing that this conversation is even happening.
Louisiana residents should focus their outrage at their representatives’ priorities, rather than trying to dramatize the bill with the subject of religious discrimination.
Critics of the bill condemn it because it would send a message that Louisiana isn’t a welcoming place for other religious views. They claim that passing the bill would violate the separation of church and state clause, making it unconstitutional.
Even though the book is an antique Louisiana document, using the Bible as the state’s official book would violate the constitution, which is why the bill will be axed without hesitation.
So why was it proposed in the first place?
The government shouldn’t display any kind of religious preference.
However, we are in Louisiana.

An estimated 90 percent of the Louisiana population is Christian. This gives voters who associate themselves with the Christian faith the power to elect their government officials.
Simply by proposing this bill, Carmody is assuring the Christian community that he is doing whatever he can to make the state a better place in the eyes of Christians, guaranteeing his re-election, which is what politicians ultimately want.
Even if the bill doesn’t pass – which it won’t – Carmody can rest on his laurels because the majority of the population will stand by his side.
And this is what the public should be enraged about.
The submission of this bill into the legislative session is the equivalent of the talent portion of a beauty pageant, a silly attempt to make someone more likeable.
People ask: well then if not this Bible, what should the state book be?
Who cares?
No one is going to remember what the state book is unless they’re in a boring episode of “Jeopardy!” No one is going to feel discriminated by the state book being a Bible because no one is going to care.
Let’s not make this issue into something that it is not. It’s not discrimination that people should be angry about; it’s incompetence.
Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the nation with pothole-riddled streets and one of the worst public education systems in the country.
Instead of attempting to improve the state, legislators are focusing on fighting over books and getting voters.
It’s time the public recognizes the disservice done by their elected officials so they can make better choices in the next voting cycle.
Otherwise, people in Louisiana will be having the wrong discussion over and over again.
Jose Bastidas is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from The Woodlands, Texas.