On Wednesday, June 19, Louisiana became the first American state to enshrine in law the obligation to display the “Ten Commandments” in all public school classrooms, from kindergarten to universities, by the beginning of the year 2025.
Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of this conservative southern state, has promulgated a bill which provides for the Ten Commandments to be displayed on posters or in a frame sufficiently “large and with a font adapted to be readable”.
“Because if we want to respect the rule of law, then we must start from the original law, that of Moses”he said during a signing ceremony.
Opponents have questioned the constitutionality of this law. The large American organization for the defense of freedoms (ACLU for the American Civil Liberties Union) immediately said that it would take the matter to court.
“The law violates the separation of church and state and is clearly unconstitutional”, she said in a press release. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion or the preference of one religion over another. According to the ACLU and two other associations, this law will prevent students with different beliefs from feeling safe at school.
Historical significance for supporters of the law
Supporters of the law counter that the measure is not just religious, but that it has historical significance. In legal parlance, the Ten Commandments are “the founding documents of our state and our national government”they proclaim.
The posters will be accompanied by a four-paragraph “contextual statement” describing how the Ten Commandments “constituted an important part of American public education for nearly three centuries.”
According to the law, public funds will not be used for its implementation. The posters would be financed through donations.
Other conservative states in the “Bible Belt” of the southern United States – such as Texas and Oklahoma – have attempted to adopt similar measures, but have given up in the face of threats of legal challenges over their constitutionality.