A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Louisiana law that would have required public schools across the state to display the ten commandments In their classes till 1st January. U.S. District Judge John W. DeGravelles of Baton Rouge, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled Tuesday that the law violates the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment.
The ruling found that the Louisiana law is “prima facie and unconstitutional in every respect”, barring Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and the defendants in the case from enforcing the mandate, and requiring them to notify public schools about the change. There was a need to do it.
The Louisiana Attorney General's Office alleged Tuesday that the judge's ruling applies to only five school districts in the state named in the lawsuit — East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, Livingston Parish Schools, St. Tammany Parish Schools, Orleans Parish Schools and Vernon Parish Schools. .
And in a statement to CBS News, Murrill said that “We strongly disagree with the court's decision and will immediately appeal, as the deadline for implementation of HB 71 is approaching January 1, 2025.”
Tuesday's decision came with a preliminary injunction issued in a lawsuit brought by parents of Louisiana public school students, who were represented by a legal team from the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation goes.
The defendants include Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, as well as members of the State Board of Education and other local school boards, who are represented by the Attorney General.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican whose efforts to integrate elements of his Christian faith into secular life has been central to his political platform, signed Ten Commandments Law Entering law in June. Referred to as HB 71 in the ongoing lawsuit, it ordered all public K-12 classrooms and state-funded universities in Louisiana to display a poster-sized printout of the orders—a set of ethical instructions that essentially To lay the foundation of something religious. denominations – including the Christian Church – in “large, easily readable font” from the following year.
Supporters of the legislation argued that it would restore former vestiges of “state and national history, culture, and tradition” in Louisiana's public education spaces and claimed that the measure was not rooted solely in religion. But those who opposed this law raised questions on its constitutionality.
In an original complaint challenging the Ten Commandments law, the ACLU claimed that it violated church and state and that it would effectively discriminate against students, especially those who are not Christians. Their lawsuit asks the court to order HB 71 declared a violation of constitutional religious rights determined by the first amendmentWhich prevents the government from “establishing” a religion, or giving preference to one religion over another, and protects the religious freedom of individual citizens.
“The state's main interest in passing HB 71 was to impose religious beliefs on public-school children, without regard to the harm it would cause to students and families.” original complaint“The primary sponsor and author of the legislation, Representative Dodie Horton, announced during debate on the bill that it 'seeks to demonstrate God's law in the classroom to children so they can see what He says is right and what He says is right. That's wrong.'”
ACLU said in a statement Its lawsuit represents a group of plaintiffs “who are Jews, Christians, Unitarian Universalists, and non-religious.” The statement said each felt that “the newly enacted statute violates the US Constitution as well as long-standing US Supreme Court precedent”.
Meanwhile, Christopher Dear, a New Orleans-based U.S. history teacher, has filed a separate lawsuit against the new law in federal court in New Orleans. Dear's lawyers on Tuesday submitted a copy of DeGravelles's decision to the judge overseeing Dear's case as evidence to bolster their claim that the new law is a violation of religious freedom.
“If I were to have the Ten Commandments in my classroom, I would feel as if I were a state agent, forcing students to follow a specific religion, which public-school teachers, especially That's not the goal for history teachers, said Dear, who was honored as Louisiana Teacher of the Year in 2020. “We want our students to feel included.”
Nicole Hunt, an attorney with the Christian advocacy group Focus on the Family, disagrees that display of the Ten Commandments would exclude any students or teachers in schools who do not have Christian beliefs.
“As a parent, I would be excited to see the Ten Commandments posted on my student's wall,” Hunt told CBS News. “They not only serve as moral guidelines for individuals and society, things like don't murder, don't commit adultery, these are things that help create a thriving community and a thriving nation.”
“It's a symbol of religious freedom in America,” he said.