Clergy, parents file suit against Lousiana Ten Commandments law
A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway at the Georgia Capitol on June 20. Louisiana has become the first state in the country to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
A group of public school parents, including some clergy, have filed a lawsuit against Louisiana’s new law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools, arguing the statute unfairly privileges a specific version of Christian scripture in addition to impinging on the rights of the nonreligious and those of other faiths.
The complaint—which was filed June 24 by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and offices of the ACLU—singles out a bill signed into law last week that requires public schools to post copies of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, paid for by donations. Plaintiffs argue the law violates their First Amendment right to religious freedom as well as the US Constitution’s prohibition against establishing a state religion.
“This simply cannot be reconciled with the fundamental religious-freedom principles that animated the founding of our nation,” reads the complaint, which notes no federal court has upheld the display of the Ten Commandments in a public school setting.
