The House Education Committee approves legislation that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom from elementary school to college. Haughton Representative Dodie Horton is a co-author of the bill and says The Ten Commandments are a historical document on which all laws are based
“It is so important that our children learn what God says is right and what he says is wrong. And to allow this to be displayed in our classrooms.”
The measure passed on a ten to three vote. Representative Barbara Freiberg, a Republican from Baton Rouge, was one of the three no votes…
“Do we believe that imposing a Christian value that comes from the ten commandments on our Muslim friends or our Islamic friends or our Atheist students is the proper thing to do.”
Horton’s legislation calls for the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster that would be purchased by private funds. She says several religions follow the Ten Commandments…
“This is not preaching a Christian religion. It’s not preaching any religion. It’s teaching a moral code that was placed that was sat down by the first law giver.”
Freiberg believes Horton’s mandate for the displaying of the Ten Commandments sends the wrong message
“I have concerns about requiring this in public schools were we wish to embrace students of all cultures, all religious backgrounds, and of all religious faiths.”
No other state has such a law. The U-S Supreme Court ruled that posting the Ten Commandments in classroom was unconstitutional because it violated the church and state clause But supporters of the Horton’s bill point to a 2022 ruling that said prayers after a football game are not a school endorsement of Christianity.
