Louisiana Upholds Its Unconstitutional Sodomy Ban

Louisiana voted resoundingly yesterday to keep its symbolic sodomy ban on the books—a ban made toothless more than a decade ago when the Supreme Court ruled that anti-sodomy laws can't be enforced. The bill that would have rid the state of the measure failed in the state's House of Representatives by a vote of 27-66, the Times-Picayune reports. A leading lobbying group, the Christian Louisiana Family Forum, had fought hard against wiping the law, calling it "consistent with the values of Louisiana residents who consider this behavior to be dangerous, unhealthy, and immoral."

The group argued the bill would put teens at higher risk from sex predators. "This has been on the Louisiana law books for nearly 200 years," countered state Rep. Valarie Hodges, who supported the bill. "Just because we decriminalize something doesn’t make it right," she said, per Gambit. Said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith: "I never thought it would pass, but I thought it would do better." (More Louisiana stories.)