Governor Landry Slams Critics Of New State Law
Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry has been the target of critique along with the state legislature after the passage and signing of House Bill 71 on June 19th of this year. The bill requires all public schools in the state to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Days after the law was signed by the Governor, a federal lawsuit was filed by nine families against the state, arguing that it is unconstitutional for publicly funded schools to execute what the law describes.
The law gives state schools until January 1st of next year to get the displays in every classroom, it seems no schools have yet to take any action as Attorney General Liz Murrill stated that the state-provided posters "haven't been produced yet." Attorney General Murrill also announced that she is seeking a federal court to overturn the lawsuit being levied against the state law. Murrill argues that the posters the state will provide will "constitutionally comply with the law" and that the lawsuit should be thrown out on the basis that "the lawsuit is premature and the plaintiffs cannot prove that they have any actual injury."
Critics of the law argue that it violates the First Amendment as it would require the state to use its authority to display the Ten Commandments which they see as the state making a move toward establishing a religious connection to the state. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues against the law, Alanah Odoms, the Executive Director of the ACLU says, “The government can’t prioritize or cannot give preference to one religion over another, and the government can’t show favor to one religion over another and that is exactly what we see here.”
Those in favor of the law argue that it does not violate the Constitution because the Ten Commandments would be displayed in a historical context, not a religious one. The wording of the bill furthered upon this argument stating that the goal is to uphold the decision made by the Supreme Court in the case Van Orden v. Perry, a case that determined that a Texas Capitol building had the right to display the Ten Commandments as the court decided that the Capitol could keep the display as part of the nation's tradition of recognizing the Ten Commandments as a historical piece. The
At the same conference with the Attorney General on Monday, Governor Landry said "I did not know that the Ten Commandments was such a bad way for someone to live their life, really and truly, I don't see what the whole big fuss is about." Landry went on to touch on comments from parents in the state who disapprove of the law, "What I would say to those parents if those posters are in the school and they find them so vulgar, tell the child not to look at them."