Appeals court declines to lift pause of Louisiana Ten Commandments law
A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to lift a hold on a Louisiana law requiring all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit means the state may not make posting the biblical directives mandatory while it appeals a lower court’s decision that called the law “unconstitutional on its face.”
Earlier this year, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to require the Ten Commandments to go up in all K-12 public schools in “large, easily readable font.” The posters would also include a short explanation as to why the religious text is relevant to American history.
A group of parents with varying religious backgrounds challenged the law, arguing in court that it infringes on their First Amendment right to decide their children’s religious upbringing. Several civil rights groups have backed their effort.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles wrote in a 177-page decision last week that the law is “not neutral toward religion,” rejecting the state’s claims that the government can require posting the Ten Commandments because they are historically significant to the foundation of U.S. law.
“Since the law is not neutral, it easily fails strict scrutiny analysis; even assuming AG Defendants had established a compelling interest (e.g., for education or history), there are any number of ways that they could advance an alleged interest in educating students about the Ten Commandments that would be less burdensome on the First Amendment than the one required by H.B. 71,” deGravelles wrote of the law, deciding that the parents would be “irreparably harmed” by its implementation.
The state wanted to post the Ten Commandments in all public schools by Jan. 1.
National Republicans, including President-elect Trump, have supported the law. He wrote on social media that posting the Ten Commandments in “public schools, private schools and many other places” could be the “first major step in the revival of religion, which is desperately needed, in our country.”
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