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Judge Orlando Garcia heard arguments Wednesday in Federal Court in San Antonio involving a lawsuit against the state of Texas requiring the Ten Commandments be placed in school classrooms.
This hearing was the latest lawsuit challenging Texas Senate Bill 10 and the requirement that public elementary and secondary schools display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Attorney Jonathan Youngwood represents the parents of children in several school districts and argued that the Texas law violates the state constitution.
“The First Amendment of the Constitution protects against state establishment of religion," he said after the hearing.
"It also guarantees that individuals have the right to free exercise and to make choices about their religious beliefs. Our case is about both of those parts of the First Amendment to the constitution, and our submission and our argument to the court is that this statute violates both."
Similar lawsuits in Texas and Louisiana have moved to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and will be heard in January. Judge Garcia said he would make his ruling after attorneys for the plaintiffs presented additional documents by the end of this week.
