Will Texas be the next?
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) plans to bring up legislation to require public schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
On Thursday, Patrick criticized Texas state House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) for halting a state Senate bill that would have required the display of the Ten Commandments in schools, vowing to bring it back.
“SB 1515 will bring back this historical tradition of recognizing America’s heritage, and remind students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation of American and Texas law: the Ten Commandments,” Patrick wrote on X.
During the last legislative session, the Texas Senate passed S.B. 1515, which would have required every Texas public elementary and secondary school to display the Ten Commandments, according to The Hill. As lieutenant governor, Patrick is the president of the state Senate.
The bill sailed through the state’s Senate last session on partisan lines, with Democrats criticizing the bill for “insulting non-Christian Texans.”
“Texas WOULD have been and SHOULD have been the first state in the nation to put the 10 Commandments back in our schools,” Patrick wrote on X. “But, SPEAKER Dade Phelan killed the bill by letting it languish in committee for a month assuring it would never have time for a vote on the floor.”
“This was inexcusable and unacceptable. Putting the Ten Commandments back into our schools was obviously not a priority for Dade Phelan,” he added.
The Ten Commandments legislation could potentially come up at the Legislature’s session next summer unless the governor convenes a special session earlier.
Earlier this week, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom, starting next school year. The bill in Louisiana calls the Ten Commandments a “foundational document of our state and national government.” (RELATED: Louisiana Mandates Ten Commandments In All Public Classrooms)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed a new law on Wednesday requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom. Supporters argue that the law reinforces moral values and the state’s cultural heritage.
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