WFCN – A new governor and a GOP-dominated Legislature have pushed a conservative agenda, and Louisiana is the first state to mandate that the Ten Commandments be shown in every public school classroom.
A poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” must be seen in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded institutions, according to legislation that Republican governor Jeff Landry signed into law on Wednesday.
A legal challenge was promised by those who doubted the law’s constitutionality. In addition to its historical relevance, supporters claimed that the measure is not just religious. According to the legal language, the Ten Commandments serve as “foundational documents of our state and national government.”
By the beginning of 2025, the posters will be in classrooms along with a four-paragraph “context statement” outlining how the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”
The law prohibits the use of state funds for the mandate’s execution. We would use donations to cover the cost of the posters.
Image: The New York Times
The Mayflower Compact, often referred to as America’s “First Constitution,” the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory (modern-day Midwest) and paved the way for the admission of new states to the Union, are among the other items that the law “authorizes,” though it does not mandate, to be displayed in K–12 public schools.
A lawsuit opposing the bill was promised by civil rights organizations and groups who support the separation of church and state shortly after the governor signed the legislation into law at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette on Wednesday.
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Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint statement on Wednesday afternoon that the law will prevent students from receiving an equal education and will prevent children who hold different beliefs from feeling safe at school.
According to a joint statement from the groups, “the law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates the separation of church and state.” The freedom to practice and hold any religion views one chooses, free from governmental interference, is guaranteed by the First Amendment. Teachers and parents in public schools should not have to put their favorite religion doctrine on them by politicians.
The legislation was opposed by State Senator Royce Duplessis, who stated as much to CBS affiliate WWL-TV in April.
Democratic leader Duplessis stated, “That’s why we have a separation of church and state.” It was during Sunday school that we studied the Ten Commandments. As I mentioned on the Senate floor, you may take your children to church if you want them to learn the Ten Commandments.”
With Landry taking over as governor in January after Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards served two terms, the contentious bill was passed in a state deep within the Bible Belt. Lawmakers are able to enact conservative policies because the GOP has a supermajority in the legislature and controls every elected office in the state.
The measure was written by State House Representative Dodie Horton. WWL-TV said that she defended it in April before the House, stating that Louisiana’s laws are based on the Ten Commandments.
“I hope and I pray that Louisiana is the first state to allow moral code to be placed back in the classrooms,” Horton declared. “It’s been on the wall [at a private school] since kindergarten.” I discovered that there was a God, and I understood that I should obey his commands.
The states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah have proposed legislation akin to this one, mandating that the Ten Commandments be set up in classrooms. Only Louisiana has been able to pass the bills into law, despite concerns of legal challenges about the constitutionality of such measures.
The Ten Commandments have long been the subject of legal disputes about their exhibition in schools.
An identical Kentucky statute was declared illegal and in violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution in 1980 by the U.S. Supreme Court. This section states that Congress is not allowed to “make any law respecting an establishment of religion.” The supreme court determined that the legislation served a blatantly religious objective rather than having any secular function.