Louisiana has passed a new law stating that public school classrooms must display the 10 commandments, as critics slam the move.
On Wednesday, Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed into law a measure requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font" across all public classrooms, from kindergarten through state-funded universities.
"If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses, who got the commandments from God," Landry stated, per AP.
The law specifies that the posters, accompanied by a four-paragraph context statement about the historical role of the Ten Commandments in American education, must be in place by the start of 2025. These displays will be funded through donations, not state funds.
Additionally, the law authorizes but does not require the display of other historical documents in K-12 public schools, such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance.
Shortly after the bill's signing at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, several civil rights organizations announced their intent to file a lawsuit against it.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation issued a joint statement asserting that the law undermines educational equality and threatens the safety of students with diverse beliefs.
"Even among those who may believe in some version of the Ten Commandments, the particular text that they adhere to can differ by religious denomination or tradition. The government should not be taking sides in this theological debate," the statement read.
It seems as though Landry is unmoved by the backlash, as he declared at a recent GOP fundraiser in Tennessee: “I’m going home to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms. I can’t wait to be sued.”
In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the public display of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky county courthouses was unconstitutional, per the Independent.
The ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation are gearing up to sue the Landry administration.
“The law violates the separation of church and state and is blatantly unconstitutional,” they said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government. Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools.”
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