(LifeSiteNews) — The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill requiring K-12 public schools to prominently display the Ten Commandments in entrance ways, in classrooms where U.S. History and Civics are taught, and in other common areas.
At the same time, bills that ban drag shows, forbid teachers from displaying pride flags in their classrooms, and prohibit staff from using pronouns inconsistent with students’ biological sex were also passed.
House Bill HB 178, sponsored by Rep. Mark Gidley, passed with overwhelming approval, 88-11.
“This is about returning foundational principles to schools to be taught,” Gidley said.
“The Ten Commandments are a key part of the Judeo-Christian religious and moral tradition that shaped Western Civilization and ultimately the founding of the United States,” the bill states. “In particular, because they include what John Quincy Adams described as both ‘civil and municipal’ provisions as well as ‘moral and religious’ provisions, the Ten Commandments have historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system. Teaching students about the Ten Commandments promotes historical understanding and helps to foster a common cultural heritage and awareness.”
The measure requires the Ten Commandments to be framed and at least 11 inches by 14 inches in size.
“These are principles that our children need, and even if it’s just looking at it on the wall to remind them of what they are and how they should live from day to day,” said Rep. Patrick Sellers, the only Democrat to support the legislation. “That’s what’s missing in our schools. That’s what’s missing in our homes, that’s what’s missing in our families.”
“If you look around our nation, if you look around the world, we see so much of our Western civilization crumbling because we have forsaken the roots and foundations upon which we were built,” Republican Rep. Ernie Yarbrough said.
The legislation now moves to the Alabama Senate, where a companion bill has already been approved by the Senate Education Policy Committee.
Gov. Kay Ivey signaled that she intends to sign the bill into law, saying, “This is about teaching history, not imposing religion.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned the measure, declaring it to be unconstitutional:
The First Amendment guarantees that students and their families — not politicians or the government — get to decide which religious beliefs, if any, they adopt and what role those beliefs will play in their lives. Displaying the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms blatantly violates this promise. Students can’t focus on learning if they don’t feel safe and welcome in their schools. These bills are unconstitutional – plain and simple.
According to an Associated Press (AP) analysis, so far this year at least 20 states have considered legislation mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools or state buildings.
Pride flags and drag shows to be banned in Alabama public schools
While the Ten Commandments are in, pride flags and drag shows will soon be out in Alabama’s public schools.
HB 244 would “prohibit classroom instruction in public school prekindergarten through the twelfth grade related to gender identity or sexual orientation; to prohibit education employees from displaying certain flags and insignia in public preK-12 schools; and to prohibit education employees from referring to a student by pronouns inconsistent with the student’s biological sex.”
In particular, the bill bans flags and insignia “relating to or representing sexual orientation or gender identity” in public school classrooms.
HB 67 would “prohibit public K-12 schools and public libraries from knowingly presenting or sponsoring drag performances in the presence of a minor without the consent of the minor’s parent or legal guardian.”
The measure defines drag performances as those “in which a performer exhibits a sex identity that is different from the sex assigned to the performer at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers.”
