(DCWatchdog.com) – Stirring controversy and making religious conservatives outraged, a coalition of civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against Louisiana’s state government to defy a law that mandates the display of the Ten Commandments.
The action, spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and signed by Governor Jeff Landry (R-LA), includes the ACLU’s Louisiana chapter, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
In a press release, Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of ACLU of Louisiana, criticized the law as an infringement on the separation of church and state.
“By filing this lawsuit, Louisianans clap back and let the Governor know he can’t use religion as a cover for repression,” Odoms said in the statement.
“Public schools are not Sunday schools. We must protect the individual right of students and families to choose their own faith or no faith at all. The separation of church and state is a bedrock of our nation’s founding principles; the ten commandments are not,” he added.
Moreover, Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, attributed the issue to the rise of Christian nationalism.
“This lawsuit is necessary to protect the religious freedom of Lousiana public schoolchildren and their families. Not just in Louisiana, but all across the country, Christian Nationalists are seeking to infiltrate our public schools and force everyone to live by their beliefs. Not under our watch.” she remarked.
The plaintiffs argue in the filing that the Act includes false statements relating to a purported history and connection between the Ten Commandments and government and public education in the United States.
It also argues that there is no longstanding tradition of permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms in Louisiana or the United States more generally.
Anticipating legal challenges, Governor Landry expressed eagerness at a fundraiser shortly before signing the bill, stating he “can’t wait to be sued.”
If the United States Supreme Court eventually hears the case, it will decide whether to uphold the precedent set in the 1980 Stone v. Graham ruling.
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