Life has just become a lot more complicated for Louisiana school students, who now not only have to contend with the usual school rules around phones, running in the corridor, attendance and uniforms, but have to pay heed to the Ten Commandments (King James Bible version) as well. When state governor Jeff Landry signed the legislation on Wednesday stipulating that every public classroom in Louisiana must display the Ten Commandments, it was no great surprise that all hell broke loose. As of now, it’s the only state in the US making this demand of its schools.
The law states that the commandments must be framed on a poster or a framed document (at least 11x4 inches) and written in large, “easily readable font”. “Well, what’s important about this bill and what’s important to remember about this country is that whether we like it or not, Moses is in the supreme court of the United States,” Lauren Ventrella, one of the co-authors of the bill said when she appeared on news channels to defend the legislation. Even allowing for the longevity of supreme court judges, news that Moses is on the bench would have alarmed many.
What she meant, she clarified, was that the commandments were enshrined in the supreme court and that Moses faces the rostrum in the House of Representatives chamber, casting a judicious eye on the succession of presidents who stand there to give the state of the union address and who may, in their day have broken one, several or indeed all of the Ten.
