By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - The Biblical Ten Commandments will be required to be displayed in all public school classrooms in the state of Louisiana after Gov. Jeff Landry signed Republican legislation mandating the action into law Wednesday.
"If you want to respect the rule of law you've got to start from the original law given, which was Moses," Landry said at the bill's signing ceremony, according to the USA Today newspaper.
At least one "amen" was heard in response to the governor's comments.
The controversial law encompasses all public classrooms from Kindergarten through university, requiring the display of a poster-sized version of the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font."
"Including the Ten Commandments in the education of our children is part of our state and national history, culture, and tradition," according to the law.
It is all but certain to face rigorous legal challenges with a Supreme Court fight concerning its constitutionality highly likely.
In an effort to stymy legal challenges, the legislation requires the posters to be funded via donations rather than state funds. It cites a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that allowed the posting of a donation-funded monument to the Ten Commandments, but the law goes one step further by mandating the placement in public buildings.
The legislation cleared the state House of Representatives May 28 in a 79 - 16 vote. It was approved in the state Senate in a lopsided 30 - 8 vote two weeks prior.
Republicans hold a super majority in the Louisiana legislature, allowing them to easily pass bills without support from across the aisle.
Similar bills are planned in other Republican-controlled states, including Texas and Oklahoma.