There is absolutely nothing funny about the new law that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry just signed (as a child fainted behind him) that requires all public classrooms to display a poster of the Ten Commandments.
The beginning text of Louisiana State Legislature House Bill 71, which is set to go into effect in early 2025, reads:
AN ACT To enact R.S. 17:2122 and 3996(B)(82), relative to public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools; to provide for the display of certain historical documents; to provide for the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Ten Commandments; to provide for displays in each classroom; to provide relative to the use of donations or the acceptance of donated displays for this purpose; to provide for applicability; to provide for legislative intent; to provide for historical context; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
No later than January 1, 2025, each public school governing authority shall display the Ten Commandments in each classroom in each school under its jurisdiction. The nature of the display shall be determined by each governing authority with a minimum requirement that the Ten Commandments shall be displayed on a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches. The text of the Ten Commandments shall be the central focus of the poster or framed document and shall be printed in a large, easily readable font.
The law seems blatantly in violation of the First Amendment, and MSNBC explains that a number of groups are, indeed, challenging the law as unconstitutional:
It wasn't long before Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced their intention to challenge the new law in court.
"The law violates the separation of church and state and is blatantly unconstitutional," the groups said in a joint statement. "The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government. Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools."
Literally the only funny thing I can find in this situation, and it's not really funny "ha ha" but more smack-my-damn-head-how-are-people-so-idiotic is that the "Ten Commandments" law actually contains eleven commandments. Check out the official language contained in the text of HB 71:
The text shall read as follows:
"The Ten Commandments
I AM the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."
Y'all, that's ELEVEN commandments, not ten:
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
- Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
- Thou shalt not kill.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery.
- Thou shalt not steal.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."
SMDH. (And thanks to Edward Branley for alerting me to this!)
