Rachel Maddow: Louisiana voting to keep sodomy law is like chicken running round with its head cut off

Apr 20 2014
Written by Nick Duffy

News anchor Rachel Maddow has ridiculed Louisiana’s state legislature for voting to keep an unconstitutional sodomy law.

Last year, it was alleged that police officers in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were abusing an outdated unconstitutional law that criminalised homosexuality to arrest adult men in ‘sting’ operations for having consensual sex in private.

A bill submitted by Democrat Patricia Haynes Smith this week attempted to finally remove the anti-gay provision, but after opposition from the powerful Louisiana Family Forum lobbying group, it was overwhelmingly voted down, by a vote of 67-27 in the House of Representatives.

Maddow said yesterday on The Rachel Maddow show: “Sometimes the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice. But you know what? Sometimes the arc of the moral universe runs around like a chicken with its head cut off.

“It’s illegal! It’s a really clear thing, states cannot have sodomy laws. You can’t make it illegal to be gay!

“But the Louisiana legislature voted to keep their sodomy law, and they did so in emphatic fashion.

“Just to make a point, they’re keeping the law on the books.

“That’s the actual news in this 21st century, America, happy 21st century!”