The 3 - June 23, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, features a new law signed by the governor in Louisiana which mandates that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools in the state.  Also, Colorado cake baker Jack Phillips was back in court defending his rights to decline to provide a cake that would violate his religious beliefs.  And, California lawmakers are determined to force teachers to hide secrets about students' sexuality from their parents. 

New Louisiana law mandates display of the Ten Commandments in public schools

The state of Louisiana has become the first in the nation to pass a law that requires public schools in the state to post the Ten Commandments, according to The Christian Post, which reported, "House Bill 71...mandates that each public school classroom display a poster-sized copy of the Ten Commandments by next January." The article says that Governor Jeff Landry, "during a signing ceremony Wednesday," which was streamed on the X platform, said, "If you want to respect the rule of law you've got to start from the original law given, which was Moses..."

There are specific requirements for the displays, including a "four-paragraph 'context statement' telling readers that 'The Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.'"

The Christian Post article noted:

Supporters of the law maintain that its purpose is to highlight the document’s historical significance, as the legislation describes the Ten Commandments as one of the "foundational documents of our state and national government."

The bill also allows schools to display other historical documents, such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance.

The article also referred to attorney Matt Krause of First Liberty, who "said the new law recognizes 'the history and tradition of the Ten Commandments in the state.'"

Colorado cake baker Phillips back in court

The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, Jack Phillips, who had received a positive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, was back in court recently.  This time, as CBN News reported, he was defending himself against an attorney named Autumn Scardina, who had "...called Phillips' suburban Denver cake shop requesting a birthday cake that had blue frosting on the outside and was pink inside to celebrate a gender transition."

The article said:

Since 2012, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop has been targeted nonstop and has continually found himself in court defending his religious beliefs.

In 2018, Phillips won a partial victory at the Supreme Court after refusing to make a cake for a gay wedding because of his religious beliefs.

But Scardina called his bakeshop asking for the gender transition cake and another custom cake, one depicting Satan smoking marijuana, to "correct the errors of [Phillips'] thinking."

The Colorado Court of Appeals had sided with Scardina, but Alliance Defending Freedom, representing Phillips, "...is asking the Colorado Supreme Court to reconsider the case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Colorado graphic artist Lorie Smith last year when she declined to design wedding websites for same-sex couples because it violated her religious beliefs."

The CBN story goes on to report:

The ADF claims activists and Colorado officials have misused the same state law that was at issue in 303 Creative to punish Phillips for more than a decade.

"Free speech is for everyone. As the U.S. Supreme Court held in 303 Creative, the government cannot force artists to express messages they don't believe," said ADF Senior Counsel Jake Warner. "In this case, an attorney demanded that Jack create a custom cake that would celebrate and symbolize a transition from male to female. Because that cake admittedly expresses a message, and because Jack cannot express that message for anyone, the government cannot punish Jack for declining to express it."

California law that would force teachers to keep secrets from parents passed state Senate

Even though several school districts in California have implemented policies that would mandate that teachers notify parents with information about their students' sexuality, the state Legislature is intent on overriding these policies through a sweeping state law.  According to the website for the organization, Real Impact:

AB 1955 is a serious and direct attack on parental rights in California. AB 1955 will prohibit ALL school employees or contracted individuals from being required to notify parents of any information regarding their child’s gender identity or sexual orientation. The bill also declares any parental notification policy that a school board has passed to be invalid. The California legislature is trying to intimidate school boards like Chino Valley Unified, who passed a notification policy that strengthens parental rights.

The bill has passed the state Senate, and Capitol Resource Institute reports that the bill will be heard this week in the Education Committee in the other chamber of the Legislature, the State Assembly. 

California Family Council said on its website that "The passage of this secrecy bill...marks a significant shift in the relationship between parents, children, and schools, sparking outrage among many who believe it undermines parental rights and jeopardizes children’s well-being." At a press conference the Council held prior to the Senate vote, Assemblyman Jim Patterson "...argued that the bill would create a 'government-imposed wall' that shuts children off from the love and care their parents can provide, particularly when they need it most."