BATON ROUGE -  Parish officials won't back a proposal to ban balloon releases in East Baton Rouge. 

The proposed ordinance was one of a handful of items discussed at Wednesday's Metro Council meeting. Councilmembers voted 6-4 to kill the proposal.

The idea to ban such displays, which are common at vigils and memorials, was introduced at the council earlier this month. Those who supported the ban argued that the balloons create litter across the parish, potentially harming the environment and animals.