Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom under a bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday.

The GOP-drafted legislation mandates that a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” be required in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities. Although the bill did not receive final approval from Landry, the time for gubernatorial action — to sign or veto the bill — has lapsed.

Opponents question the law’s constitutionality, warning that lawsuits are likely to follow. Proponents say the purpose of the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. In the law’s language, the Ten Commandments are described as “foundational documents of our state and national government.

  • hopesdead
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    fedilink
    326 months ago

    Hmm… doesn’t specifically basing any laws on a universally recognized organized religion by definition a violation of Church and State? Doesn’t explicitly stating a religious totem qualify as favoring one religion over others? Doesn’t this also violate the Lemon Test since it in no way can be seen as secular in nature to put religious text in any form inside a classroom that is funded by the state? Seems they wrote themselves the reason to strike down the law into the law itself.