A divided U.S. federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Texas can require public schools to display the biblical Ten Commandments in every classroom, reversing a lower court judge who had blocked the law and marking a setback for parents who accused the Republican-led state of trampling their rights under the U.S. Constitution.
The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit voted 9-7 to uphold Texas Senate Bill 10, which was enacted last year and requires a poster of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in a visible spot in every public elementary and secondary school classroom in the state.
The Texas law “does not tell churches or synagogues or mosques what to believe or how to worship or whom to employ as priests, rabbis, or imams,” Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote. “It punishes no one who rejects the Ten Commandments, no matter the reason.”
“The court’s ruling goes against fundamental First Amendment principles and binding U.S. Supreme Court authority,” said lead attorney Jon Youngwood. “The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction.” Youngwood said the plaintiffs “anticipate asking the Supreme Court to reverse this decision.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision “a major victory for Texas and our moral values.”
Source: Reuters