When we saw that state representative John Illg, a Republican from Harahan, was filing a bill that would ban organized balloon releases, we failed to anticipate that a highly-charged mess of a controversy was coming.
Illg’s bill, HB 581, would criminalize balloon releases in the state for people older than 16, imposing civil fines of $150 for a first violation, $250 for the second and $500 for any additional citations.
Our take on it was that HB 581 is sort of a Karen-ish measure. It’s an example, perhaps, of overlegislating an issue, and the visceral reaction to it is that making criminals out of people who simply want to put on a little spectacle in the sky for a high school graduation or a funeral or some other event is the nanny state at work.
On the other hand, releasing dozens or hundreds of helium-filled balloons into the sky is a fairly wasteful thing to do, and given that we’ve got enough of a problem with litter in Louisiana Illg isn’t wrong to note this is something we as a state should probably discourage.
More than that, not too long ago a Mylar balloon that had been released caused a power outage and subsequently a boil-water advisory in New Orleans, which brought this issue up locally there. A number of states – Florida and Tennessee, for example, and a bunch of states along the east coast – have banned balloon releases.
So it’s one of those things which isn’t a major issue – but something of an interesting discussion. Namely, where’s the line between enforcing good standards and over-regulating society. We’re not sure which side of that line this bill would fall.
And it’s due for a vote today in the Louisiana House, so we might get some clarity on that score.
But what we completely missed when this came up is that Illg’s bill is apparently racist.
Yeah? Oh, yeah.
Because it turns out that in Louisiana the people who do most of the balloon releasing are black folks, and so this is an example of the white man coming down hard on people of color.
Some famous examples…
Young Scooter’s life was honored in Atlanta as loved ones gathered for an unforgettable balloon release
— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) April 4, 2025
And just recently…
We had no idea that balloon releases were a black thing, but apparently they are.
And when WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge did a story on HB 581 over the weekend, they found somebody who had very colorful words about Illg and his bill…
Cathy Toliver lost her 3-year-old grandson Devin Page Jr. to gun violence three years ago. She’s held balloon releases in his memory but also encourages others to participate. “Because we know they’re no longer here in the natural, but when we release those balloons, it’s like we’re sending them up to Heaven and reaching our loved ones. Why would someone want to make a bill to stop that?” Toliver said. “So if you’re going to say because of the environment, we’re living in Hell. We’re living in all types of things that are wrong in this universe.” She said this bill would rip away part of people’s grieving process. “If you pass this bill and say no more balloon releases you are becoming a dictator and that is wrong. You do not dictate to people how they can grieve,” Toliver said.
Ooooohhhhhhkay. So there’s that.
Here’s Cathy Toliver, by the way. From a screenshot of the segment…
Are we going to get the big racial debate on the House floor over this bill? We sure hope not. But it seems like if the bill moves over to the Senate we might just see a carnival coming to the Capitol, complete with balloons.