A Louisiana State Representative has claimed that "schools have turned into fight zones" and a new law in the state means that the 10 Commandments must be displayed school classrooms.
This comes after the legislation that Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law on Wednesday requiring a poster-sized display of the 10 Commandments in “large, easily readable font” in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities.
Speaking to GBN America, State Representative Mike Bayham said: "I believe that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of Western civilization. They are the foundation of our sense of right and wrong.
"We have chaplains in Congress. We do open up our legislative sessions in prayer. This is not about what [religion] the 10 Commandments are, first of all, they're not a Christian doctrine.
Mike Bayham explained why schools have introduced the rules
GBNA
"They're Jewish. I mean, this comes from the Torah. The 10 Commandments are also referenced in the Koran. And as Christianity is technically an offshoot of Judaism that is something that Christians adhere to as well.
"We have to recognise what is our base and our sense of right and wrong."
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The state representative explained that he had a card with the 10 Commandments on his desk since he took office.
He stated: "I put it where I could see it while looking at the board when I go vote. This isn't something I just started doing the other day because the bill got passed and it got publicity. It's the truth.
"If not for the 10 Commandments, where else would we get our sense of right and wrong? Where do we trace this back to? I mean, it's pretty basic when you follow through history and see where thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, shall not bear false witness, fidelity.
"These are all concepts that we used to adhere to in society before we decided to go off the rails and decided to just make whatever truth we feel comfortable with."
The 10 Commandments have to be installed in every classroom
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Earlier in the interview he explained: "Our sense of right and wrong is based upon the 10 Commandments. This is what our civilization and our society is based on, and it's not a novel concept.
"If you were to go to the United States House of Representatives chamber, you would see a bar relief of Moses looking straight at the speaker's rostrum. So this isn't new and this isn't about Christian nationalism.
"This is about promoting, and recognizing the basis of our sense of right and wrong. And to be brutally honest, our schools have turned into fight zones.
Mike Bayham claimed it "instils" values
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"We've had a lot of violence in schools. Everyone talks about gun violence, but no one talks about the violence between students and some students attacking teachers.
"Now, we've had students getting arrested, including in the New Orleans area, for getting into very violent fights, not just the pushing, shoving matches and scrums from when we were younger.
"These are these are beat downs. And we feel it's very important to instil these values in our students because right now the popular culture is winning the hearts and minds of young people. When I feel that we need to focus upon our foundational values as a country and as a civilization."