Thou shalt not display Ten Commandments in schools, says federal judge
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A new requirement that Louisiana schools display the Ten Commandments by Jan. 1 was blocked by federal Judge John W. deGravelles on Tuesday, according to AP. DeGravelles ruled that the bill was “overtly religious” and violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion or blocking the free exercise of religion. Parents of the school children filed the lawsuit arguing that the bill, signed by conservative Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs also argued that the poster-sized requirement of 11 by 14 inches would isolate students, especially those who are not Christian. DeGravelles ultimately agreed with the plaintiffs, calling Louisiana’s new law “unconstitutional on its face.” His ruling acknowledges a long-standing principle in American law: the separation of church and state that is stated in the First Amendment. This is the same law that Gov. Jeff Landry said shortly before signing that he “can’t wait to be sued” over. Yes, that Gov. Landry, who also reportedly equated U.S. law with biblical law. “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses,” he said. The decision is significant not only for Louisiana’s Bible Belt but for broader attitudes nationwide regarding religion and conservatism in public schools. And it’s particularly so in the South, where Christians are feeling emboldened after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, a GOP-led Senate, and a conservative Supreme Court. Defenders of the Ten Commandments display deceptively justify its value in public school classrooms as a historical foundation of U.S. law and governance. “Were the first four commandments enacted into law today, they would constitute plain constitutional violations,” said legal expert Marci Hamilton. The Ten Commandments also do not have historical pinnings in the American legal system, Hamilton highlights. This comes as Republican-led southern states like Oklahoma and Kentucky are also integrating Christianity into public education. This legal and political push to merge religion with state functions has become an increasingly contentious issue in the nation’s ongoing culture wars. On the campaign trail in February, Trump spoke to a conservative audience at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. He promised to “protect Christians in our schools and our military and our government” and in “our public square” to reportedly raucous applause. Evangelical Christians continued to show consistent support for him from 2016 all the way up to Nov. 5, with the election results revealing a staggering 8 in 10 evangelical Americans voted for the Trump-Vance ticket, according to AP VoteCast. Louisiana serves as a reminder that while the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom, it also places firm limits on allowing state governments to promote any specific religion under the deceptive guise of historical education. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/12/2285651/-Thou-shalt-not-display-Ten-Commandments-in-schools-says-federal-judge?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
A new requirement that Louisiana schools display the Ten Commandments by Jan. 1 was blocked by federal Judge John W. deGravelles on Tuesday, according to AP. DeGravelles ruled that the bill was “overtly religious” and violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion or blocking the free exercise of religion. Parents of the school children filed the lawsuit arguing that the bill, signed by conservative Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs also argued that the poster-sized requirement of 11 by 14 inches would isolate students, especially those who are not Christian. DeGravelles ultimately agreed with the plaintiffs, calling Louisiana’s new law “unconstitutional on its face.” His ruling acknowledges a long-standing principle in American law: the separation of church and state that is stated in the First Amendment. This is the same law that Gov. Jeff Landry said shortly before signing that he “can’t wait to be sued” over. Yes, that Gov. Landry, who also reportedly equated U.S. law with biblical law. “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses,” he said. The decision is significant not only for Louisiana’s Bible Belt but for broader attitudes nationwide regarding religion and conservatism in public schools. And it’s particularly so in the South, where Christians are feeling emboldened after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, a GOP-led Senate, and a conservative Supreme Court. Defenders of the Ten Commandments display deceptively justify its value in public school classrooms as a historical foundation of U.S. law and governance. “Were the first four commandments enacted into law today, they would constitute plain constitutional violations,” said legal expert Marci Hamilton. The Ten Commandments also do not have historical pinnings in the American legal system, Hamilton highlights. This comes as Republican-led southern states like Oklahoma and Kentucky are also integrating Christianity into public education. This legal and political push to merge religion with state functions has become an increasingly contentious issue in the nation’s ongoing culture wars. On the campaign trail in February, Trump spoke to a conservative audience at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. He promised to “protect Christians in our schools and our military and our government” and in “our public square” to reportedly raucous applause. Evangelical Christians continued to show consistent support for him from 2016 all the way up to Nov. 5, with the election results revealing a staggering 8 in 10 evangelical Americans voted for the Trump-Vance ticket, according to AP VoteCast. Louisiana serves as a reminder that while the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom, it also places firm limits on allowing state governments to promote any specific religion under the deceptive guise of historical education. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/12/2285651/-Thou-shalt-not-display-Ten-Commandments-in-schools-says-federal-judge?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main