Louisiana is poised to become the first state to require the display of the Ten Commandments at all schools that receive public funding, including colleges and universities.
Lawmakers in other states, like Texas, South Carolina, and Utah have recently attempted similar legislation, but none have yet passed any as stringent as Louisiana appears likely to approve.
The efforts to require the Ten Commandments displays began after Supreme Court rulings in cases like Kennedy v. Bremerton School District indicated a looser interpretation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
That clause prevents state-sponsored religion. In a 1980 ruling on a Kentucky case, the U.S. Supreme Court found a Ten Commandments display requirement unconstitutional.
The Louisiana bill, HB71, was authored by Rep. Dodie Horton (R-Bossier), whose 2023 bill requiring the words “In God We Trust” be posted in every classroom also became law.
The new bill requires the text of the Ten Commandments be printed on a poster no smaller than 11 inches by 14 inches and that the words be “the central focus” of the document.
Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, was the only lawmaker to speak against Thursday’s bill, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
