A lawsuit challenging a new Louisiana law requiring posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is premature because the measure has yet to be implemented, state Attorney General Liz Murrill said.
Signed into law June 19, the legislation mandates every state school, college and university classroom include a display of the Decalogue as an 11- by 14-inch poster or framed document by Jan. 1.
But because no schools have installed the displays, Louisiana is asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana to dismiss the suit, Murrill said during a press conference video recorded by KADN News 15 in Lafayette.
Liz Murrill
“As we explain in the brief, the lawsuit is premature, and the plaintiffs cannot prove that they have any actual injury,” Murrill said. “That’s because they don’t allege to have seen any displays yet, and they certainly can’t allege that they have seen any display of the Ten Commandments that violates their constitutional rights. … Because this lawsuit is all based on hypothetical facts, the court can’t decide the case yet.”
The state’s filing comes in response to a June 24 lawsuit filed by a coalition of the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation on behalf of nine Christian, Jewish and nonreligious Louisiana families.
The action argues the law infringes on the families’ religious freedom and violates the constitutional concept of church-state separation.
The coalition then filed a motion July 8 asking the court to bar implementation of the law before the beginning of the school year.
“This law is a transparent attempt to pressure public-school students to convert to the state’s preferred brand of Christianity, the coalition said in a joint statement provided to Baptist News Global Aug. 6.
And the suit’s goal of protecting the religious freedom of the state’s public-school students and families is anything but premature, the coalition said.
“The plaintiffs’ injury in this case is far from hypothetical. Louisiana requires posting the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom, and the state has mandated specific language to be the central focus of every display.”
“The plaintiffs’ injury in this case is far from hypothetical. Louisiana requires posting the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom, and the state has mandated specific language to be the central focus of every display,” the group said. “That language violates each and every parent’s right to dictate the religious or nonreligious upbringing of their children.”
But the state contended the displays will avoid those violations by depicting the commandments’ role in U.S. history and culture, as the law requires.
“For example, a school, teacher or civic nonprofit looking to donate displays could simply have a poster that explains the historical role that the Ten Commandments have played in American history, both in education and in law,” according to the brief seeking dismissal of the lawsuit.
Murrill presented a number of poster designs as examples. One shows the Decalogue beside the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and the 1689 English Bill of Rights, while another has the commandments flanked by a sculpted image of Moses and a photo of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“Every one of these posters illustrates at least some ways that you could constitutionally comply with the law,” she said. “These are teachable moments that we can illustrate through these posters. And they all show a constitutional way to apply the law.”
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suggested the Ten Commandments need to be displayed because, when followed, they offer a blueprint for healing divisions within American society.
“If we start from a moral perspective, then maybe we would have a little bit more peace in our society and in this country,” Landry said. “The Ten Commandments are not symbolic of any one particular religion. Many religions share and recognize the Ten Commandments as a whole. So really and truly, I don’t see what the whole big fuss is about.”
Reliefs of Moses are included in the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court building, Landry said, noting: “He is considered to be one of the original lawmakers and someone who contributed to the legal foundations of our country. That’s a legitimate message for us to deliver in our schools.”
Plaintiff’s attorneys took issue with the governor’s suggestion that Louisiana public-school students should live their lives according to the Ten Commandments.
“It is not for Landry or the State of Louisiana to dictate how its citizens choose to live or what god, if any, they choose to worship,” they said. “America’s Founders ensured that, for matters of conscience, we would not be a nation of ‘majority rules.’
“The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of religion and belief for every individual, regardless of what religious doctrine the Louisiana legislature seeks to force on children and families.”
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