Louisiana State Representative Lauren Ventrella defended Governor Jeff Landry‘s new legislation to force all public schools in the state (elementary, middle, high schools and public colleges and universities) to display the Ten Commandments, a foundational text in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition.
On CNN, Ventrella said of the legislation: “It’s historical in nature, it’s not religious.”
Note: Landry said of new state law: “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original law giver, which was Moses.” Landry also said, anticipating resistance, “I can’t wait to be sued.”
Ventrella: You have to remember this is a new bench.
Phillip: So, you’re talking about the Supreme Court, is that what you’re referring to?
Ventrella: That’s correct. pic.twitter.com/DJQnEnBfls
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 21, 2024
CNN’s Abby Phillip, who noted that the new law is not secular and “is about religion at the end of the day,” asked Ventrella why she thinks the Supreme Court will uphold this law now, knowing it will be contested in court by organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union who called the legislation “blatantly unconstitutional.”
[Note: The Supreme Court decided against a similar law in Kentucky in Stone v. Graham in 1980.]
Referring to the justices on the Supreme Court, Ventrella “You have to remember this is a new bench.”
Ventrella’s statement refers to the conservative makeup of the current SCOTUS, with its 6-3 majority. (While in the White House, former President Donald Trump appointed three new conservative Justices: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.)
Ventrella also reminded Phillip that “our legislation opens with prayer.”