Were we British, we might say, &8220;The Louisiana Legislature perpetuated a bloody disaster on Thursday.&8221;

But since we&8217;re good, old-fashioned, red-blooded Americans, we&8217;ll just say, we&8217;re disappointed.

Much to no one&8217;s surprise, state lawmakers cut up a proposed ban on cockfighting in Louisiana Thursday and left the issue for dead on the Capitol floor again.

Cockfighting proponents cited the critical nature of the practice to the economies of rural Cajun towns. That&8217;s an insult to the intelligence of the state&8217;s residents. Cockfighting isn&8217;t that important, and it isn&8217;t critical to the state&8217;s existence.

What it is is cruelty to animals, plain and simple.

Louisiana missed a great opportunity. By banning the centuries-old, but obviously cruel, practice, the state could have avoided the perpetuating belief among many Americans that the state is backward.

Right now, Louisiana has taken a huge punch in the stomach. New Orleans is a fragment of what it was pre-Katrina. Thousands and thousands of residents have left the state seeking shelter and a life after the storm.

And yet, the state continues to live in the past, regardless of how wrong or inhumane that past might be.

Louisiana&8217;s office of tourism uses the phrase, &8220;Come fall in love with Louisiana all over again.&8221;

If the state continues to live in the past, the phrase will be lost on many potential tourists who will never want to visit &8212; let alone fall in love &8212; the first time.