Louisiana
Louisiana Passes Public Schools Ten Commandments Law, Parents and Clergy Sue – by Jan Wondra – Ark Valley Voice
This past week, Louisiana became the first state in the nation — or the nation’s history for that matter — to pass a state law requiring that a suitably-produced copy of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom of every school, at all grade levels through university level.
Civil rights groups on Monday filed a lawsuit against Louisiana’s House Bill 71, which mandates that all public schools display the Ten Commandments. File Photo by Michael Kleinfeld/United Press International.
The law, HB 71, stipulated that this posting would be paid for by donations — but that has not silenced objectors. Nor has it negated the fairly obvious intrusion of a political movement known as “Christian nationalism” into politics, our daily lives, and schools.
A lawsuit was filed Monday, June 24 by a group of public school parents, as well as clergy against the mandated display of the Ten Commandments, the group known as Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and offices of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).
‘This is religious favoritism, and it is not only dangerous but runs counter to my religion and faith,’ said Presbyterian Church (USA) minister and plaintiff in the case the Rev. Jeff Sims.
Speaking at a press conference after the suit was filed, the head of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Rachel Laser, pointed out that several other states [Oklahoma, Mississippi, and South Carolina] have introduced similar bills attempting to dictate public morality. Calling this an example of “the Christian nationalism that is on the march across this country” she said that Texas has also already passed a law allowing public schools to enlist chaplains.
Communicating with several journalists in the past few days, we noted it could reasonably be asked that if anything is required to be posted in every classroom in a state, it should be the law of this land — the United States Constitution, not a Christian document.
In fact, the posting of the TEn Commandments would appear to violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”
This is a multi-cultural nation. The reaction across the U.S. may not be what the Louisiana legislators thought they might see. Objections are not just being voiced by those of other religions, from Jewish to Muslim, and Hindus, but by the leadership of Christian denominations, including the mainline protestant faiths.
According to Religious News Service, “the plaintiffs argue the statute unfairly privileges a specific version of Christian scripture in addition to impinging on the rights of the nonreligious and those of other faiths.” Further, they say, “the law violates their First Amendment right to religious freedom as well as the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against establishing a state religion.
“This simply cannot be reconciled with the fundamental religious-freedom principles that animated the founding of our nation,” reads the complaint, which notes no federal court has upheld the display of the Ten Commandments in a public school setting.
The plaintiffs in this case are a mixture of religious and non-religious parents, and include clergy who object to a narrow interpretation of religion.
“By subjecting my children to permanent displays of scripture in every classroom, the Ten Commandments conflicts with this principle,” said Unitarian Universalist Minister Rev. Darcy Roake. According to Religious News Service (RNS) she pointed out “that among her faith tradition’s seven principles is a call for “the right to a free and responsible search for truth and meaning,” that her husband is Jewish and that they have raised their children in a multi-faith household.
“My husband believes this state-mandated version of the Ten Commandments does not conform with his Jewish faith either, because the displays misappropriate and alter the text of the Ten Commandments as they are set out in the Torah,” she told a RNS reporter.
There is more irony — turns out that the Louisiana law requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in English — but of course the original ten were in Hebrew.
A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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