Louisiana officials are urging a federal appeals court to uphold a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Louisiana Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga, with the support of nonprofit law firm Becket, asked on Tuesday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to remove a temporary pause on the law.
“As we have illustrated in our briefs, there are numerous ways for our schools to constitutionally implement the law,” Murrill said. “And this should not be controversial: as the Supreme Court has said, the Commandments have historical significance as one of the foundations of our law.”
H.B. 71, which would require the display of the Ten Commandments in schools as well as a context statement explaining the history of the Commandments in American public education, was signed into law by the governor on June 19. It was slated to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit later in June against Louisiana in a federal district court to stop the law from being implemented. A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana temporarily paused the law on Nov. 12 in response to the ACLU lawsuit.
“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from Louisiana’s public square,” Joseph Davis, senior counsel at Becket, said. “Thankfully, our Constitution says otherwise: Louisiana is allowed to acknowledge every aspect of our history and culture—including the Ten Commandments.”
The court has scheduled oral arguments in the case for Jan. 23, 2025.
