One week after he formally received a bill to designate the Bible as Tennessee’s state book, Gov. Bill Haslam has vetoed the measure. Critics say the bill isn’t constitutional — and that it equates the Bible to the Tennessee walking horse or the Tennessee cave salamander.

The bill’s backers are pledging to try to override the veto, which comes a year after similar legislation failed.

Explaining his veto in a letter to state Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, Haslam writes that in addition to the legal issues about the bill, “this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text.” MORE