Law makes fleur-de-lis an official state symbol
Gov. Bobby Jindal signed legislation into law Tuesday to make the fleur-de-lis an official state symbol.
State Rep. Nickie Monica said the fleur-de-lis bill was important despite criticism otherwise.
Monica, R-LaPlace, said he weathered charges of authoring insignificant legislation for sponsoring House Bill 455.
“What I wanted to do is to make people proud of the fleur-de-lis,” he said.
The bill allows the fleur-de-lis to be used on official state documents.
Monica said he agreed to make it “a” symbol rather than “the” state symbol.
“I didn’t want to knock the pelican off the state flag,” he said.
Monica noted that the fleur-de-lis became a symbol of hope after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He said it also points to the state’s French heritage.
Webster’s dictionary defines the lily emblem as “the coat of arms of the former French royal family.”
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/24159619.html