Baptist Press
By Kevin McGill, Sara Cline, posted November 12, 2024 in National News
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A new Louisiana requirement that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom by Jan. 1 was temporarily blocked Tuesday (Nov. 12) by a federal judge who said the law is “unconstitutional on its face.”
U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles in Baton Rouge said the law had an “overtly religious” purpose, and rejected state officials’ claims that the government can mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments because they hold historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. His opinion noted that no other foundational documents — including the Constitution or the Bill of Rights — must be posted.
In granting a preliminary injunction, DeGravelles said opponents of the law are likely to win their ongoing lawsuit against the law. The lawsuit argues that the law violates the First Amendment’s provisions forbidding the government from establishing a religion or blocking the free exercise of religion. They had argued that the poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments would isolate students, especially those who are not Christian.
DeGravelles said the law amounts to unconstitutional religious government coercion of students: “As Plaintiffs highlight, by law, parents must send their minor children to school and ensure attendance during regular school hours at least 177 days per year.”
Proponents say that the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law.
Plaintiffs in the case were a group of parents of Louisiana public school children.
The law was passed by the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature earlier this year. The Associated Press sought comment Tuesday morning from Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill, both Republicans and supporters of the law.
In recent years, similar bills requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms have been proposed in other states including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. However, with threats of legal battles over the constitutionality of such measures, none have gone into effect. More Here
