La. lawmaker withdraws birther bill

BATON ROUGE, La., June 15 (UPI) -- A Louisiana state legislator said he has given up, at least for the moment, efforts to make presidential candidates produce birth certificates.

Rep. Alan Seabaugh, a Republican from Shreveport, said he realized the measure lacked support to get to the floor for a vote and that members of the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee said they did not want a hearing, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported. The bill would have required presidential candidates to produce original or certified birth certificates to get on the ballot in Louisiana.

Conservatives continued to question President Obama's citizenship long after his campaign posted a copy of his official Hawaiian birth certificate on the Internet. Obama recently produced the "long-form" certificate, which Hawaii does not actually treat as official.

"It takes the politics out of it," Seabaugh said.

Seabaugh said he might introduce a new bill next year, conceding that the one he is withdrawing had "logistical" problems.