Louisiana became the first state in the country Wednesday to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public classrooms, as the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups called it “blatantly unconstitutional” and vowed to sue. File Photo by Michael Kleinfeld/UPI | License Photo
June 19 (UPI) — Louisiana became the first state in the country Wednesday to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public elementary, high school and state-funded universities.
Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 71 into law after state lawmakers approved the measure last month. The new law requires the Ten Commandments be displayed in “large, easily readable font” inside classrooms by the start of 2025.
“If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original law giver, which was Moses,” Landry said during Wednesday’s bill-signing ceremony.
Louisiana is the first state to require the Ten Commandments in schools since the Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Kentucky in 1980. The high court ruled the law blurred the line between church and state.
On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union announced plans to sue, claiming Louisiana’s new law also violates the First Amendment.
“We are preparing a lawsuit to challenge H.B. 71. The law violates the separation of church and state and is blatantly unconstitutional,” the ACLU said in a statement.
“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,” the ACLU added.
Gov. Landry told The Tennessean on Saturday that he was going “to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms,” before adding, “And I can’t wait to be sued.”
Supporters of the new law are leaning on a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found a Washington state school district violated the First Amendment’s religious freedom rights of a football coach, who was fired for praying on the field after games.
“Putting this historic document on schoolhouse walls is a great way to remind students of the foundations of American and Louisiana law,” said Matt Krause, Of Counsel at First Liberty Institute.
“We applaud Louisiana for being the first, but by no means the last, state to take this bold step for religious liberty,” he added.
Texas and Tennessee are considering similar laws.
