(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) State senators in the Texas GOP passed a set of bills requiring public schools to openly display the Ten Commandments, give students and staff time for daily prayer and allow teachers to read the Bible in the classroom.
Both bills passed in the state Senate with a 17-12 vote. According to Breitbart, the Texas House of Representatives will determine their final fate this week.
Republican state Sen. Phil King would mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom throughout the state. When introducing the bill, King dubbed the action as tradition.
“This is an American tradition,” King said. “If schools in Texas do not have it in their funding to [display the Ten Commandments], they can accept private dollars for this.”
The Texas State Senate on Thursday passed SB 1515, mandating the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.
“This is American tradition,” State Sen. Phil King (R) said. pic.twitter.com/ntY0LGSoML
— The Recount (@therecount) April 21, 2023
State Sen. Mayes Middleton, also a Republican, sponsored the second bill requiring public schools to give students and staff allotted time to pray and read the Bible as part of the curriculum.
“Allowing the Ten Commandments and prayer back into our public schools is one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs,” said Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick. “Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.”
In August of 2022, Texas passed a similar law requiring public schools, including colleges, must display signs bearing the national motto: “In God We Trust.”
Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Arizona all passed similar laws.
The bill’s co-author, State Senator Bryan Hughs, R-Tex., tweeted, “The national motto, In God We Trust, asserts our collective trust in a sovereign God.”
Signs could either be provided by school funding or donated. Patriot Mobile donated several signs to Carrol Independent School District, who displayed the signs in the entry way of their buildings.
All of these bills were hotly contested. Several Twitter users decried the law as “Christofascist tradition,” and claimed that that the world is turning into the dystopia depicted in left-wing feminist novel The Handmaid’s Tale.
