A federal judge on Tuesday ordered several Texas public school districts to take down posters displaying the Ten Commandments, in another victory for opponents of a law signed by the state’s governor earlier this year requiring the religious passage to be prominently posted in all classrooms.
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The preliminary injunction from Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ordered 14 public school districts to take down the posters by next month.
In June, Gov. Greg Abbot (R) passed a law mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in a “conspicuous location” in every classroom. The law required the posters to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, with font sizes and typeface that would ensure the text was “legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.”
Those who support the law argue that the Ten Commandments — the religious and ethical tenets of the Abrahamic faiths — are a foundational part of U.S. history and culture, while its critics say the mandate violates the separation of church and state.
A group of 15 families from varied religious backgrounds filed a legal complaint against the law in September. Garcia, in his preliminary injunction issued Tuesday, wrote that “it is impracticable, if not impossible, to prevent plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays” without stopping school districts from enforcing the mandate.
Garcia also said the plaintiffs are likely to prevail because the Texas law violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from “establishing” a religion.
