FFRF, others to sue Louisiana over Ten Commandments law

Christian nationalists are at it again, this time in Louisiana, where the state Legislature just passed a bill that would mandate that every public school put a Ten Commandments display in every classroom. The government has even placed its stamp of approval on a specific version of the decalogue, amounting to a literal state establishment of religion.

House Bill 71 requires schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom on “a poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches.” The Ten Commandments must be the “central focus” of the display and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” FFRF, as part of a coalition that includes the ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, AU and international law firm Simpson Thatcher, is set to sue Louisiana over this blatant constitutional violation, once Gov. Jeff Landry signs this bill into law, as is expected.

The law violates long-standing Supreme Court precedent and the First Amendment. More than 40 years ago, in Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court overturned a similar state statute, holding that the First Amendment bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms. No other state requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools.

The displays mandated by H.B. 71 will result in unconstitutional religious coercion of students, who are legally required to attend school and are thus a captive audience for school-sponsored religious messages. They will also send a chilling message to students and families who do not follow the state’s preferred version of the Ten Commandments that they do not belong, and are not welcome, in our public schools.

FFRF and its partners stated: “The government should not be taking sides in this theological debate, and it certainly should not be coercing students to submit day in and day out to unavoidable promotions of religious doctrine.”