Tennessee Governor Vetoes Making Bible State's Official Book
Gov. Bill Haslam wrote a letter shutting it down today.
— -- The governor of Tennessee has vetoed a controversial bill that would have made the Bible the state's official book.
Gov. Bill Haslam cited constitutional issues and others in his letter vetoing the bill.
"In addition to the constitutional issues with the bill, my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text," Haslam wrote in a letter addressed to the speaker of the state house, Beth Harwell.
"If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn't be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance. If we are recognizing the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Tennessee by designating it as the official state book," he wrote.
Haslam is not the only government official to come out against the bill, as the state's attorney general also violated the U.S. Constitution and the state's Constitution.
The Associated Press reports that the veto comes after the bill, House Bill 615, had narrowly passed votes in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly.