Judge weighs challenge to Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law

BATON ROUGE, La. (WVUE) - Attorneys for the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State spent Monday (Oct.21) arguing in federal court over Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms.

Judge John D. DeGravelles is expected to issue a ruling soon, though an appeal is highly likely, regardless of the decision.

The ACLU called historian Stephen Green to the stand, who testified that founding fathers like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were intent on separating religion from government to prevent coercion or questioning of citizens' religious beliefs.

“It is the most important idea that we have – we don’t have to fear retribution for the faith we hold,” said Alanah Odoms of the Louisiana ACLU. “We do not have a crystal ball, but we still live in a fundamental democracy, where each of us can make a decision about the religion we practice.”

Green says that the Ten Commandments were rarely mentioned in the founding documents of the United States.

Attorneys for the state presented evidence that over 100 million copies of readers, which included the Ten Commandments, were published in the nation’s early years.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has argued that reintroducing the Ten Commandments in schools is appropriate.

“I think we’ve forgotten that democracy means majority rules,” said Landry. “When the US House opens for business, it opens with prayer.”

The decision, which will be made by Judge DeGravelles, could be issued within two weeks. The ruling is expected to face an appeal, no matter the outcome.

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