Louisiana’s attorney general announced Monday that she is requesting a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.
The suit, filed in June by parents of Louisiana public school children from various religious backgrounds, argues that the law violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishment of religion and its guarantee of religious liberty. Supporters of the law contend that the Ten Commandments hold historical significance to U.S. law, beyond their religious context.
As students in Louisiana prepare to return to school this month, state officials presented large examples of posters featuring the Ten Commandments, which Attorney General Liz Murrill asserts “constitutionally comply with the law.” Murrill noted that she is not aware of any school districts that have started implementing the mandate, as the posters “haven’t been produced yet.”
Murrill explained that the court brief being filed, which was not immediately available, argues that “the lawsuit is premature and the plaintiffs cannot prove that they have any actual injury.”
“That’s because they don’t allege to have seen any displays yet and they certainly can’t allege that they have seen any display of the Ten Commandments that violates their constitutional rights,” she added.
Murrill highlighted over a dozen posters during Monday’s press conference to argue that the displays can be done constitutionally, emphasizing the Ten Commandments’ historical and cultural relevance. Some posters featured quotes from notable figures like the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Martin Luther King Jr., Moses, and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, all referencing the Ten Commandments.
Other posters adopted a modern approach, including memes. One example showed a scene from the 2004 film “Mean Girls,” where a character played by Rachel McAdams says, “Why are you so obsessed with me?” The meme was surrounded by news headlines about the lawsuit against the new mandate. Another display paired the Ten Commandments with lyrics from “Ten Duel Commandments,” a song from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-award-winning musical “Hamilton.”
“Each one of these posters illustrates something that we believe represents a constitutional application of the law,” Murrill said.
Based on the law’s language, “each public school governing authority” will determine the design of their posters. The Ten Commandments must be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches (28 by 36 centimeters), where the commandments are the central focus and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” Additionally, each poster must include the four-paragraph context statement.
Lawmakers have specified that a condensed version of the Scripture passage in Exodus should be used. This version has ties to the 1956 movie “The Ten Commandments” and is commonly associated with Protestants.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the legislation in June, making Louisiana the only state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in the classrooms of all public schools and state-funded universities. This measure is part of a series of conservative priorities that became law this year in Louisiana.
When asked about parents who are upset about the Ten Commandments being displayed in their child’s classroom, the governor responded: “If those posters are in school and they (parents) find them so vulgar, just tell the child not to look at it.”
In an agreement reached by the court and state last month, the five schools specifically listed in the lawsuit will not post the commandments in classrooms before Nov. 15 and won’t make rules governing the law’s implementation before then. The deadline to comply, Jan. 1, 2025, remains in place for schools across the state.
Louisiana’s new law does not require school systems to spend public money on Ten Commandments posters. It allows the systems to accept donated posters or money to pay for the displays. Questions still linger about how the requirement will be enforced and what happens if there are not enough donations to fund the mandate.
Image Credits:
• Moses and Ten Commandments via Wikimedia Commons by Anonymous, Between 1600 and 1624
Featured Image Credit:
• Moses and Ten Commandments via Wikimedia Commons by Anonymous, Between 1600 and 1624