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Showing posts with label 10 Commandments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10 Commandments. Show all posts

21 June 2025

Appeals court blocks Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms 20JUN25

 


These "religious" zelots should know God was the original law giver, Moses was his clerk. More importantly these self-righteous apostates should be required to follow the 10 Commandments before forcing them on anyone else. We have 249 years as a democratic Republic and we will defeat the hypocrites of  project 2025 in their attempts to turn America into an authoritarian theocratic oligarchy! The First Amendment to our constitution enshrines the separation of church and state in the entire country. This article from the Washington Post

Constitution of the United States

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Appeals court blocks Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms


Critics vowed to sue after Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed the bill into law in June 2024.



A federal appeals court on Friday blocked a Louisiana law requiring public school districts to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, calling it unconstitutional and setting up a possible Supreme Court battle.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit wrote in its ruling that if the law were allowed to stand, “impressionable students will confront a display of the Ten Commandments for nearly every hour of every school day of their public school education in the course of their regular activities.”

“We are grateful for this decision, which honors the religious diversity and religious-freedom rights of public school families across Louisiana,” the Rev. Darcy Roake, who sued to block the statute with her husband, Adrian Van Young, and other plaintiffs, said in a statement Friday. “As an interfaith family, we believe that our children should receive their religious education at home and within our faith communities, not from government officials.”

Neither Gov. Jeff Landry’s (R) office nor Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) responded to a request for comment from The Washington Post on Friday. Murrill told NOLA.com that she and her team “strongly disagree” with the ruling and believe it only applies to five school districts where the plaintiffs’ children attend school.

“We will immediately seek relief from the full Fifth Circuit and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murrill told NOLA.com.

The decision represented a victory for advocates of separation between church and state as leaders in Republican-led states test the boundaries. Lawmakers in Texas are also close to requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments — religious and ethical tenets of the Abrahamic faiths that adherents believe were given to the prophet Moses from God. Similar proposals have been introduced in several other states.

The Louisiana law, signed by Landry in June 2024, requires that the Ten Commandments be displayed in a posted or framed document that is “at least eleven inches by fourteen inches” and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” The statute also instructs schools to use donated posters or spend donated money, not public funds, to purchase the displays.

Landry argued that displaying the Ten Commandments teaches students to respect the law, saying at a bill-signing ceremony that “if you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses.”

The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations sued on behalf of nine families, arguing that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which bars the government from having an official religion.

In November, a district court judge ruled that the statute was unconstitutional and ordered the state not to enforce it. Friday’s appeals court ruling upheld that decision.

Michael Helfand, the Brenden Mann Foundation Chair in Law and Religion at Pepperdine University, said the test used to interpret a law like Louisiana’s has been chipped away for decades. Then, he said, a 2022 Supreme Court ruling in favor of a high school football coach who prayed at midfield dealt a crucial blow.

That decision could invigorate legal fights around voluntary prayer in public schools, holiday displays on government property and postings of religious texts, including the Ten Commandments, in public spaces, Helfand said.

“This is what we’re going to litigate for the next decade: Are states allowed to incorporate religion … so long as they aren’t forcing anyone to do anything?” he said.

Ben Brasch is a National Breaking News reporter for The Washington Post. He is a third-generation native of St. Petersburg, Florida who spent seven years at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before joining The Post in October 2022. He brings love of listening everywhere — from a frozen lake in Anchorage, Alaska to a burning landfill in Atlanta.

13 July 2024

ACLU THE JULY DEBRIEF: The Trump and Biden Memos, Supreme Court Declines to Protect Pregnant People's Right to Emergency Care, ACLU of Arkansas Condemns Governor's Suppression of Free Speech Voter Engagement Efforts, "The Riot Report" – From Rebellion to Reform: Examining America's Urban Uprisings, "Taking Pride in Who We Are", ICE detainee deaths could have been prevented, ACLU report says, ACLU Responds to Supreme Court Decision That Cities Can Punish People for Being Homeless, At Liberty Podcast: The Supreme Court Ruled, What Now?, ACLU to file lawsuit against Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms, TAKE ACTION:Tell Congress: America Elects Presidents, Not Kings 13JUL24

 


Fighting back against the Supreme Court's ruinous decision on presidential immunity, preparing for the outcome of the presidential election, protecting LGBTQ students and their rights, exposing ICE for its inhumane treatment of immigrants – these are just some of the major battles that the ACLU has been able to fight with your generous support. Thank you. Dive into the latest on our ongoing work in this month's Debrief.

 


ACLU DEBRIEF
The Trump and Biden Memos
The Trump and Biden Memos
 

Whether Trump or Biden wins the presidential election this November, it will shape the future of our civil liberties. Our legal experts have written the roadmap for protecting our rights – and we're sharing it with our supporters. Check out our memos breaking down how we'll face the challenges ahead.

FROM THE FRONT LINES
 
Supreme Court Declines to Protect Pregnant People's Right to Emergency Care
 

The Supreme Court had the opportunity to protect abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho but refused to hear the case. By choosing to decline the case, the Court leaves countless pregnant people at unnecessary risk. Some justices outlined how they would revoke pregnant people's healthcare rights when the case returns to court. Read our response.



ACLU of Arkansas Condemns Governor's Suppression of Free Speech Voter Engagement Efforts
ACLU of Arkansas Condemns Governor's Suppression of Free Speech Voter Engagement Efforts
 

Police in Arkansas threatened to arrest volunteers lawfully gathering petition signatures. The police claimed this fundamental democratic process had been prohibited by a directive from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The ACLU of Arkansas demands the governor cease this suppression of free speech and voter engagement.



The Riot Report – From Rebellion to Reform: Examining America's Urban Uprisings
"The Riot Report" – From Rebellion to Reform: Examining America's Urban Uprisings
 

ACLU Communications Strategist Nehemiah Bester takes us through the documentary "The Riot Report," which analyzes the story of President Johnson's Kerner Commission. Bester served as an associate producer for the documentary, which explores race relations between Black and white people and police violence.



Taking Pride in Who We Are
"Taking Pride in Who We Are"
 

Larissa Hubbard writes of her experience of being censored from her senior high school yearbook and graduation ceremony simply because of how she chooses to express her identity through dress. Read more about how Larissa and a group of other students are fighting back by filing a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education.



ICE detainee deaths could have been prevented, ACLU report says
ICE detainee deaths could have been prevented, ACLU report says
 

Our research, in partnership with several human rights organizations, found that the deaths of dozens of people in ICE custody could have been prevented with adequate medical care. Learn more about what we discovered in our report and why ICE's detention program must be dismantled.

(This link brings you to a third-party website, nbcnews.com)



ACLU Responds to Supreme Court Decision That Cities Can Punish People for Being Homeless
 

The Supreme Court ruled that the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit cities from punishing unhoused people for sleeping in public, even if they have nowhere else to go. Read our response to the Court's decision to effectively give cities and states the power to jail or fine people for the human need to sleep.

TUNE IN
 
At Liberty Podcast: The Supreme Court Ruled, What Now?
At Liberty Podcast: The Supreme Court Ruled, What Now?

Another Supreme Court term has come to a close. This year, the court delivered major decisions on reproductive freedom, voting rights, free speech, women's rights, gun rights, and presidential immunity, among other decisions. Tune into our conversation with David Cole, the ACLU's national legal director, as we break down this term's decisions.

WHAT'S NEXT
 
ACLU to file lawsuit against Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms
ACLU to file lawsuit against Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms

Louisiana recently passed a new law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The ACLU and other civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit to challenge this law. Learn more about our fight to challenge this unconstitutional law that violates the separation of church and state.

(This link brings you to a third-party website, thehill.com)

TAKE ACTION
 
Tell Congress: America Elects Presidents, Not Kings
Tell Congress: America Elects Presidents, Not Kings

The Supreme Court issued a disastrous landmark ruling that grants any president immunity from criminal accountability. Donald Trump, and any other president, is now effectively above the law. The only way to restore presidential liability – and stop our democracy from sliding toward tyranny – is if Congress passes a constitutional amendment.

Please sign on to our urgent petition now demanding Congress take action. Because no one is above the law: We elect presidents, NOT kings.

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