Background: FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File). Inset: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks with reporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard oral arguments in Murthy v. Missouri, a first amendment case involving the federal government and social media platforms in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2024 (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images).
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the new Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom by Jan. 1 is “unconstitutional on its face” due to its “overtly religious purpose.”
Louisiana became the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom when it passed the law in June. The statute required that by Jan. 1, 2025, all public school classrooms in the state must display the Ten Commandments “on a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches,” in “a large, easily readable font.”
Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, initially said, “I can’t wait to be sued,” over the statue’s legality, arguing that it had historical merit as a way of respecting Moses as “the original law giver.” A group of nine multifaith families challenged the law in court and U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles, a Barack Obama appointee, agreed with them. DeGravelles said the Louisiana statute was “overtly religious.”
The judge rejected the state’s argument that its interest was in focusing on history rather than religion, and said the argument was unpersuasive given that no other foundational documents, such as the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, were also included in the statute’s mandate.
