Louisiana officials to seek dismissal of lawsuit challenging Ten Commandments public school display mandate News
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Louisiana officials to seek dismissal of lawsuit challenging Ten Commandments public school display mandate

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Governor Jeff Landry announced their intention to request the dismissal of the lawsuit challenging the southern US state’s new legal requirement to display the Ten Commandments in public schools in a press conference on Monday.

Louisiana became the first US state to require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments when Governor Landry signed HB 71 into law on June 19. Louisiana parents and civil rights organizations sued various Louisiana educational officials and governmental bodies on July 1, seeking the prohibition of the Ten Commandments display in public school classrooms on First Amendment grounds. On July 9, the plaintiffs asked the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana to prohibit the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms until the trial’s conclusion.

In the press conference, AG Murrill stated that she and Governor Landry would be requesting the dismissal of the case because the plaintiffs could not show that every application of the bill would be unconstitutional. In emphasizing the Ten Commandments’ historical educational value, she said that they “believe that there are numerous ways that this law can be applied constitutionally and that create [really] powerful teaching moments for students in our schools.” Governor Landry further claimed that it would be contradictory for the bill to be found unconstitutional while the federal government is allowed to practice official religious conduct such as having the Ten Commandments displayed on the back of the Supreme Court building. In response to the plaintiffs’ complaints, he emphasized that everyone is bound by majority rule in a democracy.

AG Murrill said that response briefs to the plaintiffs’ pretrial injunction request will be shared on her website later in the day. If the court dismisses the case, the bill will become mandatory by January 1, 2025.

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