Latest Weather Blog
Landry defends decision to redraw congressional maps after Callais decision in '60 Minutes' interview
Related Story
BATON ROUGE — In an interview with "60 Minutes," Gov. Jeff Landry defended the state's efforts to redraw congressional districts following a landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled a Louisiana map featuring two majority-Black districts was unconstitutional because it relied too heavily on race.
The move to redraw maps will likely eliminate at least one of the state's two majority-Black districts, which critics say is an act of disenfranchising minority voters. Landry says that isn't the case.
"In the United States, we get equal rights," Landry said during the Sunday interview with host Cecelia Vega. "No one gets extra rights."
Landry said that the United States has made significant progress since the Civil Rights Movement, saying that the country's election of Barack Obama, as well as the election of numerous minorities to prominent public offices.
"Are we really trying to dredge up the past only to continue a failed narrative?" Landry said.
Critics say a major milestone of the movement, the Voting Rights Act, has been significantly damaged with the recent SCOTUS decision. Among these critics is Rep. Cleo Fields, whose congressional district was at the heart of the court's decision.
"Sometimes you get a setback to be set up. I mean, don't underestimate that power of the vote," Fields said during the same "60 Minutes" special. "That's what they are tryin' to take away."
Louisiana's governor was directly asked whether President Donald Trump had contacted him about redrawing the congressional maps, to which he replied simply: "The president has not asked me to redraw the maps."
News
