BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Opponents of a new Louisiana law that requires a version of the Ten Commandments that are hung in public school classrooms have asked a federal court to block the requirement from being implemented while their lawsuit is pending and before the new school year begins.
A group of parents of Louisiana public school students representing various faiths filed the lawsuit last month, shortly after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry the new law signedIn motions filed Monday, their attorneys asked for a preliminary injunction blocking the law. And they asked for an expedited briefing and hearing schedule that would require the state to respond to the request for an injunction by July 19 and for a July 29 hearing. Public schools are set to reopen in August.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Baton Rouge, argues that the law violates provisions of the First Amendment that protect religious freedom and prohibit laws that establish a religion.
Supporters of the law argue that it does not violate the Constitution and that posting the Ten Commandments is appropriate and legal because they are part of the foundation of American law.