By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Pastors and guests, on March 15, received an update on important bills that will be presented during the current Legislative Session.
During the event at First Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, that was co-sponsored by the Louisiana Family Forum with the Louisiana Baptist Office of Public Policy, LFF President Gene Mills said 26 of the estimated 1,200 pieces of legislation are considered “bills to watch.”
“To those who have ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart to understand, we know as covenant people we serve a covenant God, and He is at work in the world today,” Mills said. “We have a responsibility to go to the need, to go to the place where decisions are made and to present in the arena of ideas a truth that has fallen out of favor, a truth to a generation that is not even certain there is such a thing as truth or transcendental truths anymore.”
PRAYERS NEEDED
Legislators asked the crowd for their prayers.
Rep. Rick Edmonds, a former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Shreveport, said prayer for legislators is needed.
“This is going to be a historic session,” he said. “These next two years are going to be critical (for) many of the things you believe in, many things you prayed for, many of your top issues.”
Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder thanked the crowd for their prayers, saying legislators were facing decisions of importance to the faith community.
He said in the last two years when times were difficult, legislators proved their desire to make Louisiana better. He referenced Senate President Pro Tempore Beth Mizell’s bill that was key to bringing the legislature into a special session last year. Mizell, a member of First Baptist Church, Franklinton, sponsored S.B. 156 that would have prevented biological males (as transgender women) from taking women’s sports team spots away from biological females.
The bill earned super majority votes in the House and Senate during the regular session. But some lawmakers withdrew their support during the special override session, causing the bill to fall two votes short in the House of the super majority needed to override Gov. Edwards’s veto.
Mizell will bring up the bill for a vote again this session.
“We didn’t lose that battle,” Schexnayder said. “We brought awareness across the board. And I think you are going see a newfound energy this coming session with that bill back and I know Senator Mizell is going to do a great job of getting that back to us on our side. And we are going to get that passed for everybody in the state of Louisiana to help protect women and help protect the right of young ladies in this state.”
BILLS TO WATCH
SB 44
Mizell’s bill would protect the integrity of women competing against other women in sports. She said last year churches stood firm and were engaged on the issue.
“We overrode it in the Senate,” she said. “We had a conversation in the House like has never taken place before because the faith community stood firm. You all were engaged, you showed up at the capitol. I hope you saw that as an opportunity not to step away from.
“Over and over people say if I only had the power,” she continued. “You are standing here with the power that God has given us. Shame on us if don’t act like we’ve got it.”
SB 388
A bill sponsored by Sen. Sharon Hewitt would classify the sale of mail order abortion pills as a felony.
“We know that is not good for the mother and we certainly know that is not good for the baby,” she said. “My ask of you is to help us get that bill passed. We want physicians involved. Of course, we want every baby to be saved and we think that is an important step to take in that journey.
SB 203
Another bill sponsored by Hewitt would create an education savings account for certain students reading below grade level. The money allocated from the state’s per-student portion could then be used to cover expenses if a parent wishes to enroll their child in a private or home school.
“At the end of the day it should be about the kids,” she said. “It should not be about the teachers or schools or the money. It needs to be about children.”
HB 142
A bill sponsored by Rep. Laurie Schlegel would provide liability for publishers and distributors of material harmful to minors.
Schlegel, who holds a degree in marriage and family counseling from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, said she has seen the devastating effects pornography on the Internet has had on people, including children. She said the government has a compelling interest to protect children.
“What our children are seeing, it’s not your father’s Playboy,” she said. “It is hard-core pornography.”
BE DILIGENT, VIGILENT
Voddie Baucham, dean of theology at African Christian University in Zambia and keynote speaker for the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast held earlier in the day, encouraged the crowd to disciple and encourage those who serve in government.
“No matter how big, no matter how small, there is a role you can play,” he said. “Figure out what that role is, get engaged, destroy every argument that is raised against God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. And in whatever sphere the Lord places you, you be an advocate for the Kingdom of God. And do so in hopes that the Lord bless this place that we call home so it can continue to be a blessing, not just here but around the world.”
BE HOPEFUL
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin praised the residents of Louisiana for their efforts to ensure state elections are fair.
He highlighted several upcoming bills and amendments that could help ensure a fairer voting process: removing those from the rolls who have not voted in the last 10-20 years, strengthening identification for online voter registration, and creating a new voting system that will ensure all votes are counted accurately.
“Election integrity is not for sale,” he said. “Election integrity is the cornerstone of our system and it will remain. Louisiana has had a checkered past, but that checkered past is no longer.”
In his remarks, State Attorney General Jeff Landry encouraged the crowd to be steadfast in their fight for life.
“The way that we beat Roe is not with one stroke,” he said. “It is like water on a mountain, weathering it down. It’s piece by piece, brick by brick. We have to be smart, and we have to get ahead of our enemy. Make no mistake about it, the people who ply that trade [of abortion] are enemies of liberty. They are enemies of this country because they don’t believe in life.”
BE VIGILANT
Will Hall, director of the Louisiana Baptist Office of Public Policy and also executive editor of the Baptist Message, said churches were instrumental in passing the Love Life Amendment that protects common sense pro-life laws in the state, defeating an initiative for a proposed casino in St. Tammany Parish and for calling the legislature into a special session that sought to override Gov. John Bel Edward’s veto of Mizell’s bill that would have protected the integrity of women competing against other women in sports (the veto override was unsuccessful).
“It’s because of the pastors and many of you in this room,” Hall said. “I want to thank you for that.”
Looking to the Supreme Court’s decision this summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that could overturn Roe v. Wade (whose 1973 decision legalized abortion), Hall said churches will have to step up and be an advocate for pregnant women who need assistance. He encouraged Christ followers to establish pregnancy care centers, and consider education, job training and health care opportunities for women and children.
“We need to be looking at not just the death that is happening to the innocent ones inside the womb but look at the death that is happening to the innocent ones outside of the womb,” he added, noting statistics that showed Louisiana high school students led their peers, nationally, in alcohol use and the injection of illicit drugs, and were 14th across the country in smoking pot.
“Thank you very much for all the hard work that you are already doing,” Hall said. “But get ready, it’s going to be tough again this year.”
