On June 20, GOP Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana signed into law a new bill that requires all public Louisiana school and university classrooms to display a poster-sized printout of the Bible’s Ten Commandments. The law violates existing legal precedents regarding the First Amendment and is expected to be challenged in the Supreme Court, although there is speculation that today’s conservative Supreme Court will overturn that precedent and allow the new law to stand.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence argues how the new Louisiana law violates existing law and why she says we need stronger civil and criminal penalties for politicians who knowingly violate the Constitution.
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The following is an excerpt from the above video:
And speaking of history, more than 40 years ago, the Supreme Court made clear in Stone versus Graham that the First Amendment bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms. That is settled law. Governor Landry is a lawyer, he knows this. And he also knows that his new law will not pass constitutional muster and will be challenged with the quickness, which is why he proudly stated in response to this new law: “I can’t wait to be sued.”
Lawsuits aren’t enough to stop this undemocratic abuse of authority that we continue to see from right-wing leaders like Landry. They wield their power too aggressively and unapologetically, erode the separation of church and state. These individuals are public servants who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, yet they’re out here passing laws in express contravention of it to appease hardcore Christian conservative ideologies. They are breaking the law to the detriment of our democracy.
How is forcing religion on public school students and teachers not a violation of oath of office, or a deprivation of the rights of others under color of law, or arguably a treasonous act that betrays one’s country? Taken alone, these things are criminal acts deserving of punishment.