By Black Star News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Wednesday, a Texas district court judge temporarily blocked a new state law which requires school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery issued the decision in the Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District case. At issue, is whether the new law is constitutional. The lawsuit names three Dallas-area schools, the Texas Education Agency, and Texas education Commissioner Mike Morath.
The ruling comes after Dallas residents, and faith leaders, asked for a preliminary injunction to stop the law which takes effect Sept. 1. The petitioners have stated that the law violates the First Amendment. The plaintiffs include followers of the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Unitarian Universalist faiths, along with non-religious families.
Judge Biery seemed to agree with the plaintiffs saying, “[T]he displays are likely to pressure the child-Plaintiffs into religious observance, meditation on, veneration, and adoption of the State’s favored religious scripture, and into suppressing expression of their own religious or nonreligious background and beliefs while at school.”
In the 55-page ruling, Judge Biery also said, “Even though the Ten Commandments would not be affirmatively taught, the captive audience of students likely would have questions, which teachers would feel compelled to answer. That is what they do.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state will appeal the decision. In a statement Paxton said, “The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship. Texas will always defend our right to uphold the foundational principles that have built this nation, and I will absolutely be appealing this flawed decision.”
However, plaintiff, Rabbi Mara Nathan, described the ruling as a win for the rights of parents, saying, “Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.” ACLU lawyer, Heather Weaver, agreed with the decision saying, “Public schools are not Sunday schools.”
In Louisiana, which was the first state to institute a Ten Commandments school law, a three-judge appellate panel rule the law unconstitutional.
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