A Louisiana law requiring public schools and colleges to post the Ten Commandments violates the U.S. Constitution and cannot be enforced, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Nola.com reports that the unanimous appeals court decision upholds
a lower court ruling.
A three-judge 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that the law is "plainly unconstitutional." The ruling affirms a lower court’s order barring the state from enforcing the law, which mandated that every school classroom display Ten Commandments posters printed in “large, easily readable font."
Following the ruling, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she and her team "strongly disagree" with the ruling and plan to appeal.
A day after the Appeals Court decision,
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he had signed legislation that will
require all public school classrooms in that state to display the Ten Commandments. The
Associated Press reports that opponents are expected to challenge that law's constitutionality.
Critics of the Louisiana law say it shatters the longstanding divide in the United States between church and state and restricts religious freedom, while supporters — including President Donald Trump and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry — contend that it reflects America’s Christian roots and represents a return to traditional values in public education.
In November, U.S. District Court Judge John deGravelles ruled in favor of the families, calling the law unconstitutional and saying it forced students “to participate in a religious exercise: reading and considering a specific version of the Ten Commandments.” He also rejected the state's argument that the law had a secular purpose.
Louisiana is the first state to require public schools to post the Ten Commandments in more than 40 years, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar Kentucky statute in 1980.
