(LibertySons.org) – Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed a law in June requiring all classrooms in public schools to display posters with the Ten Commandments. Opponents claimed the law was unconstitutional. They filed a lawsuit and now want the courts to stop it from taking effect.
On July 8, a group of parents asked US District Court Judge John deGravelles to temporarily block the law from taking effect while their lawsuit proceeds. Fourteen parents representing 16 kids sued the state last month, arguing the law violates the First Amendment. The plaintiffs are from non-religious, Jewish, Christian, and Unitarian backgrounds. They said the state is unconstitutionally endorsing a religion by requiring the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments to be displayed.
House Bill 71 requires the commandments to be displayed on a poster that is 11 by 14 inches. They must be the focal point of the poster and written in “large, easily readable font.” Every publicly funded classroom from kindergarten to state-funded universities must have the posters. Schools have until January 1, 2025, to comply with the new law.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the groups representing families, argued that the precedent established in the Supreme Court’s Stone v. Graham decision overturned a similar law in Kentucky. In its ruling, the justices determined the Constitution prohibits public schools from displaying the Ten Commandments.
Rachel Laser, president of the organization, called it “[p]retty basic, pretty standard church-state separation, religious freedom protection.” She went on to say that parents have the right “to raise their kids how they want” and school kids deserve to be able to attend school without the fear of being bullied because they aren’t part of “the religion that the state has chosen.”
The plaintiffs asked deGravelles, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, to schedule an expedited hearing to try to get the displays blocked before the new school year begins.
~Here’s to Our Liberty!
Copyright 2024, LibertySons.org
