The Bible isn’t going to become Tennessee’s official book.
That’s the decision from state lawmakers.
The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 50-43 not to override Gov. Bill Haslam’s veto of a measure that would have added the Holy Bible to the list of state symbols, reversing course from a year ago.
The vote came after state lawmakers spent a final two hours debating whether to recognize the Bible, much of it fueled by supporters of the idea who sensed they didn’t have the votes to pass the proposal a second time.
The stalling didn’t appear to change many minds. The proposal received a dozen fewer votes than when the House first passed it last spring — well short of the number needed to overturn Haslam’s veto.
The measure’s sponsor, state Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, said he was left with moral victories.
“There is so much oppression today of Christian belief and Christian values that it seems it’s not the popular thing to do,” he said. “So I stand today to say that I am a Christian, and I’m proud that I am, and I’m proud that I live in a country [where] I have the freedom to do that.”
The vote killed the measure,
House Bill 615, before it could go back to the Senate for reconsideration. One powerful opponent of the bill, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, had predicted that it did not have the votes to pass in that chamber either.
The decision on the expected final day of the legislative session put an end to a debate that had stretched across the better part of two years. Last year, t
he measure cleared the House but stalled on the last day of session in the Senate, sending it back to committee. The measure was resurrected about a month ago, prompting another round of tense debate.
Afterward, Sexton said he was uncertain whether he’d try again next year.
“I’ve got an election to run so it’ll be up to the people whether I even make it back,” he said. “So I can’t say that I will or will not. The people have spoken to this point.”
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM