Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill into law on Wednesday requiring the 10 Commandments be posted in all school classrooms, making the Pelican State the first in the nation to do so.
The law requires a poster-size display of the 10 Commandments in “large, easily readable font” in all public classrooms in the state, from elementary school up to the university level.
The posters, which will be paired with a four-paragraph "context statement" describing how the Ten Commandments "were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries," must be in place in classrooms by the start of 2025.
Under the law, state funds will not be used to implement the mandate. The posters would be paid for through donations.
The law also "authorizes" but does not require the display of other items in K-12 public schools, including: The Mayflower Compact, which was signed by religious pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and is often referred to as America's "First Constitution"; the Declaration of Independence; and the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory - in the present day Midwest - and created a pathway for admitting new states to the Union. (CBS News)
The law is already facing legal challenges from civil rights groups like the ACLU.
Along with @ACLUofLouisiana, @americansunited and @FFRF, we’ll fight with everything we have to stop this blatantly unconstitutional law.
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 19, 2024
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she looks forward to defending it in court.
"The 10 Commandments are pretty simple (don’t kill, steal, cheat on your wife), but they also are important to our country’s foundations," she said on X. "Moses, who you may recall brought the 10 Commandments down from Mount Sinai, appears eight times in carvings that ring the United States Supreme Court Great Hall ceiling. I look forward to defending the law."
The 10 Commandments are pretty simple (don’t kill, steal, cheat on your wife), but they also are important to our country’s foundations. Moses, who you may recall brought the 10 Commandments down from Mount Sinai, appears eight times in carvings that ring the United States… pic.twitter.com/QtQgV9GXWD
— Attorney General Liz Murrill (@AGLizMurrill) June 20, 2024