Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has issued his full support for Louisiana’s law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school and state-funded university classrooms. The legislation was blocked from taking effect recently by a federal district court judge.
In an 18-state coalition brief filed Wednesday, the state’s top law enforcement official joined his colleagues in calling for U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles’ decision to be reversed.
“It is hard to understand how one could argue that a renewed emphasis on this part of our nation’s heritage through the display of the Ten Commandments could be detrimental to our students,” Marshall stated. “Our friends in Louisiana have made a strong statement, pointing to our country’s founding principles as we educate the next generation.”
Another well-known Alabama official, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, has also signaled his support for the law and believes it will survive legal challenges. Moore is known for installing a 5,280-pound monument in the Alabama Supreme Court building bearing the Ten Commandments. That move was also met with lawsuits.
RELATED: Roy Moore backs Louisiana’s law allowing Ten Commandments be displayed in school classrooms
“I think it will be differently perceived in this (U.S. Supreme) Court,” he told al.com. “I’m confident it will go through, and I will fully support the governor and will help him in any way I can.”
“It’s historical and something our country is founded upon, and we sorely need that morality back.”
Joining the Kentucky-led complaint with Alabama were attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Louisiana’s law requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches. Additionally, the text on the poster or document must be the central focus and “printed in a large, easily readable font.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
