The Louisiana State Bar Association House of Delegates will meet in Baton Rouge on Saturday, January 21, 2017. On the agenda for the meeting as Resolution No. 6 is a proposal for the creation of a “Christian Values Preservation Section.” The proposal would establish a new section “to provide a forum and an opportunity for group participation by individual attorneys who are dedicated and Biblically inspired to preserve, protect and promote those laws which are based on and founded on Judeo Christian values and principles and which confirm our Country’s Trust in God.”
Dozens of lawyers have signed a letter addressed to the current president of the LSBA to express “grave concern regarding the proposed resolution.” These lawyers contend that “the creation of such a section would be divisive, potentially destructive, and reflect poorly on our duty of justice to all.” Further, they contend that the resolution is improper under the LSBA by-laws because it is not dedicated to the “improvement of professional knowledge and skill, and in the interest of the profession and the performance of its public obligations.” For those reasons, the lawyers “urge” the president “to ensure that this proposed resolution does not reach the floor of the House of Delegates, given the extremely divisive nature of this issue and its mission that is seemingly inconsistent with LSBA By-Laws.”
If you have an opinion on this resolution, please write to the delegate in your judicial district: LSBA House of Delegates Roster for 2016-2017. I certainly will.
