ABC26 News

As Kenner Mayor Ed Muniz was addressing a group of Kenner business professionals, he began introducing some of the government workers present.

When he came to a the city attorney who he did not see in the room at the time, he remarked, "Where is he? There he is... I thought he was out putting nooses out or something."

Nervous laughter came from the audience -- nervous because the topic of nooses has been a delicate one lately, especially with parish governments.

The speech was videotaped by KTV 76. You can see Muniz's comments here in this report by ABC 26 reporter Sheldon Fox.

Muniz said over the phone that he was praising his city attorney for working the noose hanging incident in Kenner and he meant no harm.

Danatus King of the local chapter of the NAACP says Muniz may have intended for his comments to be a joke. But he also held up a picture of lynched black man, hanged to death, and said, "The reality of it is we don't have to deal with intent. The mayor of the city is making light of this hate symbol. This symbol of terror -- a noose, and that's wrong."

What do you think? Are we becoming too sensitive when it comes to subject of race? Or, is the symbol of the noose so strong that it should never be treated as a lightly?

Some background.

The case of six black teens in Jena, Louisiana -- called the Jena 6 -- brought nooses back into the public view. In 2006, the six black teens were accused of beating a fellow white student at Jena High School. Five were charged with second degree murder.

Mychal Bell, one of the teens, was tried as an adult - though he was a juvenile at the time of the beating incident. He was convicted of second degree murder.

The beating of the white student, Justin Barker, happened as racial tensions built in the small town. Several incidents involving conflict between whites and blacks followed the hanging of a noose in a tree at Jena High School. School officials say the noose hanging was a prank and had nothing to do with Barker's beating.

After Bell's conviction, tens of thousands of people marched in Jena, protesting what they said was unfair treatment of the teens. The conviction was later overturned, and Bell was ordered to be tried as a juvenile. He is in jail right now, but his lawyer recently worked out a deal to get him out in eight months. The other five teens await trial.

In November of this year, Jefferson Parish worker Terrence Lee claimed his supervisors displayed racist images at work. One of those images appeared to be a noose. Parish officials investigated and determined the noose-like rope, dartboard and bullwhip displayed were offensive and employees should have taken them down. The parish suspended six workers and the FBI is investigating.

Yesterday, New Orleans City Councilman Arnie Fielkow withdrew a proposed hate crime law that would have made displaying a noose punishable by law.

Is the noose that strong a symbol to incite beatings, to incite laws banning its display?