Scientists Boycott Louisiana after Recent Law

Many prominent scientific groups have announced that they will boycott the state of Louisiana for a recently passed law. The scientists have agreed to not hold any conferences in the state, thereby cutting them off from any potential revenue from the scientific community. The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology said that it will move its annual meeting, which draws thousands of scientists, from New Orleans to Salt Lake City.

All of this outrage is in response to a bit of legislation, passed by Governor Bobby Jindal. He is allowing teachers to use “supplemental textbooks” to criticize scientific theories. Scientists believe that this is a back door attempt to sneak creationism into classrooms.

This has outraged the scientific community, which sees this move as an attempt to undermine scientific reason and the well-established theories of evolution. However, the lawmakers were careful to include the line, saying that the bill does not “promote any religious doctrine.” It was passed almost unanimously in the Louisiana government.

To learn more about the boycott or to better understand the creationism debate and its role in the government, contact a local lawyer today.