Residents sue Louisiana to block Ten Commandments in schools

Schools and colleges are required to set up these displays by Jan. 1, 2025.

When reached for comment, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement provided to CNA that the government “cannot comment on a lawsuit we haven’t seen [yet].”

“It seems the ACLU only selectively cares about the First Amendment — it doesn’t care when the Biden administration censors speech or arrests pro-life protesters, but apparently it will fight to prevent posters that discuss our own legal history,” Murrill said. 

The lawsuit, which represents nine families who have children in the state’s public education system, argues that the mandate violates both the establishment clause and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

The text of the lawsuit alleges that a “state-sanctioned version of the Ten Commandments … prefers and imposes a set of distinct religious norms” on students. It further argues that the students will be “coerced into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious Scripture” by displaying the text. 

It also claims that the law violates parental rights by jeopardizing their “ability to direct their children’s religious education and religious upbringing.”