The Ten Commandments Law: A Distraction Louisiana Couldn’t Afford

Louisiana Republicans pushed an unserious battle over displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms. And for what?

Louisiana has real problems. We are in the middle of an insurance crisis (in case you haven’t been reading this Substack recently). Our budget continues to strain under the weight of unsustainable spending. We have yet to really adopt full school choice and closed primaries, and we have not come close to working on a constitutional convention for the state.

And yet, the political leadership in Baton Rouge decided that one of the top priorities back in 2024 was to pass a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom.

That law, House Bill 71, wasn’t just constitutionally flawed. It was, practically speaking, a political distraction designed to rile up voters rather than solve the real issues facing this state.

Late last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals did what any serious court would do. It upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the law, applying long-settled precedent from Stone v. Graham, the 1980 Supreme Court case that struck down a nearly identical Kentucky law.

The Law Was Always Doomed

Let’s be clear. This was never a close call. The law specified not just that the Ten Commandments had to be displayed, but the exact text, format, and a government-drafted “context statement” meant to justify the display. Supporters of the bill didn’t even try to hide the real purpose. They openly described it as an effort to promote Christian values in public schools. That kind of explicit religious motivation is a textbook violation of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.

Even groups I often disagree with, like the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, had the stronger argument here. When politicians openly admit that the goal is to push Christian ideology on all students in government-run schools, regardless of individual faith, the constitutional analysis isn’t hard.

You can read the court’s reasoning for yourself in Roake v. Brumley, where the judges made clear that this law ran straight into the brick wall of Stone v. Graham.

The Real Problem: Political Theater Over Real Solutions

The saddest part is that this fight was never going to be won. Louisiana Republicans chose to pass a bill that was certain to fail in court rather than focus on problems they could actually solve.

We need serious reforms in this state. Our homeowners insurance market is a mess. Our budget and tax structure need attention. And while there are real cultural fights worth having—whether it is pushing back against radical DEI policies or protecting children from aggressive gender ideology—this wasn’t one of them.

The Ten Commandments law was red meat, thrown to a base that deserved better. It was designed to make headlines, not good policy.

The Fifth Circuit Got It Right

The Fifth Circuit’s ruling was a necessary reaffirmation of Stone v. Graham and of the Establishment Clause itself. The court rightly rejected the idea that Kennedy v. Bremerton or the end of the Lemon test somehow cleared the way for this kind of overreach. There is no tradition in American history of forcing students in public schools to sit beneath mandatory religious texts dictated by the state. The Fifth Circuit didn’t overreach. It simply applied the law.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has vowed to take this all the way to the Supreme Court. Having interviewed her on this issue, I know she is building as strong a case as she can to defend the law, and to be fair to her, it is her job to defend the state in this case. Still, it’s a losing battle and one I wish she didn’t have to fight.

Conservatives Should Choose Their Battles Wisely

The fight for constitutional government means defending the First Amendment in full. That includes protecting against government efforts to impose religious doctrine, no matter how well-intentioned or familiar that doctrine might be. Conservatives have rightly stood up against leftist overreach in schools. We should be just as vigilant against overreach that comes from our own side.

Louisiana needs leaders focused on fixing the problems that actually affect our families’ lives and livelihoods. Laws like this don’t move us forward. They set us back, and they hand easy wins to the same activist groups we often oppose.

The courts didn’t hand Louisiana a loss this week. Our own politicians did. And it’s time we demanded better.