Lauren Saucier (below) is one of four candidates vying to become a judge on the Pineville (Louisiana) City Court. And if she gets elected, she already knows her first order of business: Putting up a Ten Commandments display in the court building:

She says she’d surround it with secular documents like the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Gettysburg Address. And that makes it perfectly legal, she said… while surrounded by an audience of local ministers.

“It can be done, and it should be done. Now is the time, and this is the place,” Saucier said Tuesday afternoon. … “These are historical documents that make up the fabric of our society. They’ve all influenced our laws in some way, shape or form,” she said of the five documents.

One of these things is not like the others…

Just to reiterate the obvious, the Ten Commandments didn’t influence our laws. Only two of them are actually punishable, and they’re the most common sense ideas out there (don’t kill and don’t steal).

But almost immediately after Saucier’s announcement, the other candidates fell in line:

[Fred] Pharis said he thinks displaying the Ten Commandments in the proper fashion would pass constitutional muster. “The Ten Commandments do have a historical meaning. The Founding Fathers were Bible scholars, many of them, and a lot of them did derive a lot of the principles of our Constitution from the Ten Commandments,” Pharis said.

Bible scholars like Thomas Jefferson who cut up his copy to get rid of all the bullshit parts.

Pharis added he wouldn’t put up the display, but he would begin court each day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with “Under God” in it.

[Gary] Hays said in an emailed statement that he does not want to comment on other candidates’ actions, “but as the City Prosecutor and Magistrate, I have always and will continue to use the Bible, the Ten Commandments and the Constitution as my guideline for making decisions.”

If he’s using the Bible or the Ten Commandments to guide his decisions, he’s admitting to not following the law.

The only candidate who didn’t bow down before Saucier’s display was Todd Farrar… who was unavailable for comment.

Smart move, Farrar…

I would love for local reporters to ask these candidates which laws derive from the Ten Commandments. Let’s see them stumble their way through a non-answer.

Remember: These aren’t just politicians. They’re trying to become a city judge. They’re they people who should absolutely not be looking to the Bible for guidance; we have the Constitution and our laws for that reason.

(Thanks to Randall for the link)



