内容摘要：The entrance of the Supreme Court in London, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

The entrance of the Supreme Court in London, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers approved a slew of bills on Thursday that would expand the use of Christian texts in public schools and limit protections for LGBTQ+ students, in lockstep with a national conservative agenda that has divided statehouses across the country.Three bills led to hours of debate in the Republican-dominated Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday. The bills — passed with overwhelming majorities — would mandate in public schools the display of the Ten Commandments, ban drag shows, prohibit teachers from displaying pride flags or facilitating formal discussion of sexuality, and allow chaplains to volunteer as school counselors.

Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter described the bills as “common sense” while members of the Democratic caucus condemned the legislation as “a waste of taxpayer money” that “won’t bring down the cost of eggs.”The legislation is part of a widespread effort in conservative states to regulate how schools handle social issues, a mission that has beenAlabama joins at least 20 states that have considered legislation in 2025 that would mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools or state buildings, according to an Associated Press

The sponsor of Alabama’s Ten Commandments bill, Rep. Mark Gidley, said that he did not want to promote one particular religion. Instead, he said the bill recognizes the Ten Commandments, which appear in the Old Testament of the Bible, as “one of the principal foundational documents that guided the ideas that created this great country.” The legislation said that the display should be supplemented by materials that emphasize its historical context.In 2024, Louisiana became the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom in public schools and colleges. The law

by a federal judge last year who ruled the law had an “overtly religious” purpose.

The push for the Ten Commandments in public places isPatel, in an orange uniform and handcuffed, declined to address the court. He showed no visible emotion as the sentence was issued. The judge noted that he is likely to be deported to his native India after completing his sentence. He cooperated as marshals handcuffed him and led him from the courtroom.

Shand, who had been free pending sentencing, showed no visible reaction to his own sentence, either. The judge ordered him to report to prison July 1 and agreed to recommend that he serve his sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, where he can be near his family.The judge handed down the sentences at the federal courthouse in the northwestern Minnesota city of Fergus Falls, where the two men were tried and convicted on four counts apiece last November.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Patel, an Indian national who they say went by the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Shand, a U.S. citizen, were part of athat brought dozens of people from India to Canada on student visas and then smuggled them across the U.S. border.