Attorney General Alan Wilson supports Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined an 18-state coalition supporting Louisiana’s law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools in that state. The attorneys general filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is hearing an appeal after that court ruled Louisiana’s law is unconstitutional.

“The Ten Commandments are displayed at the U.S. Supreme Court and on other prominent buildings in Washington, D.C., because they have historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system, and it’s important for our children to learn about them,” Attorney General Wilson said. “Our society is healthier and stronger when we have more religion in public life—not less. It is time to end the left’s war on religion.”

The attorneys general point out in their brief that the Supreme Court has “instructed that the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by ‘reference to historical practices and understandings,’” which they argue means Louisiana’s law is constitutional.

“A ‘close look’ at our Nation’s history reveals that ‘no one at the time of the founding was recorded as arguing that the use of religious symbols in public contexts was a form of religious establishment,’” they write in their brief.

Joining Attorney General Wilson in the brief are Kentucky, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.

You can read the brief here.