A bill to address equal pay in Louisiana will be heard on the Senate floor today. Emelie Gunn has more…
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The proposed “Pastor Protection Act” will be heard by the House Civil Law Committee today. This bill would allow clergy members and religious organizations to decline to participate in a same sex marriage. Halen Doughty has more…
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The Southern University community is mourning after the death of two students. Jeff Palermo has more…
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A bill will be heard on the Senate floor today to address equal pay. Governor John Bel Edwards supports the legislation and says Louisiana comes in dead last in the country when it comes to the wage gap between men and women. He says women in the state earn only 65 cents for every dollar a man makes.
A study by the National Partnership finds there close to a 17-thousand dollar pay gap per year between men and women. Edwards says the bill up for discuss today, is a carefully crafted piece of legislation that promotes equal pay of men and women for similar work, without being too onerous.
The study finds the state’s wage gag is costing women close to 11 billion dollars a year. Edwards says many businesses may not realize there is a pay differential. He says things must change in order to help the women of Louisiana.
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The defense attorney in the Will Smith case believes once all of the evidence comes out his client will be innocent. Cardell Hayes has been charged with second degree murder in the fatal shooting of the former-Saint, who was killed after a three-car fender bender turned violent in New Orleans. Attorney John Fuller hopes more details of the incident will come out in a preliminary hearing.
Smith’s wife Racquel Smith was also shot, but suffered no fatal injuries. Hayes will reportedly be charged in that shooting as well. Fuller stands by his claims that there was another gun at the scene and Hayes was not the aggressor.
Fuller has filed a motion to preserve all ballistic evidence. He says that when all the evidence from New Orleans Police is revealed, it will change everyone’s impression of the incident. He also says this was first encounter with Smith.
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The House Civil Law Committee will hear testimony today on the “Pastor Protection Act,” which would allow a clergy member or religious organization to deny participation in a same sex marriage. Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson, says the bill should not create a lot of controversy…
Johnson says this proposal is not as broad as similar bills that have gotten backlash in other states, like bills in Mississippi and North Carolina. He says this just protects a person’s religious beliefs, and he feels confident that once people read the legislation and understand it, any opposition will be withdrawn.
But Matthew Patterson with Equality Louisiana says if this law really only pertained to ministers and religious organizations, it would not be necessary because they are already protected under the First Amendment.
Patterson says what the bill actually does is give organizations with any sort of religious affiliation to deny service to people in same sex relationships. He says this could include places like hospitals, homeless shelters and food banks that are typically associated with a religious group.
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Southern University will hold a candlelight vigil tonight for the two students that were shot and killed outside of a party near the LSU campus. Interim Athletic Director Roman Banks says 19-year-old Annette January of Indiana was a member of the track and field team and 19-year-old Lashuntae Benton of Lake Charles was a student athletic trainer. He says everyone is having a hard time coping with the deaths of these bright young women.
One person has been arrested in connection with the case but no one has been charged with murder of the two girls. Banks says both girls were not doing anything wrong or somewhere they weren’t supposed to be. He says they were good kids.
Banks says they’re continuing to ask for prayers for the Benton and January families. He says Benton always went above and beyond her duties as she was a volunteer student athletic trainer.
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Former Saints & LSU star, Hokie Gajan, has succumbed to his illnesses. He was 56 years old. The Saints color analyst’s daughter, Kristin Gajan Sell, told WWL the hospital staff felt Hokie would be best served with round the clock care and medical attention as he was moved to ICU earlier.
The 56-year-old was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in December of 2015, and he had to miss the final games of last season as he underwent chemo. Sell says her father did not get depressed and he remained in good spirits till the end.
Friends and supporters organized a benefit last week, although Gajan was unable to attend as he was in the hospital. Sell says the outpouring of affection from everyone has been a true blessing.