A video of Texas State Rep. James Talarico using biblical scripture to tear down conservative Christian arguments is going viral on social media, and it is glorious to watch.
This past summer, Texas Republicans tried to pass Senate Bill 1515, which would have required the Ten Commandments to be displayed prominently in every public school classroom in the state. The bill was an attempt by conservative Christian Republicans to inject religion into schools, but Talarico wasn’t going to take this lying down. Instead, he used their religious text against them.
After passing the Texas State Senate, the House Public Education Committee was considering the bill at a May meeting, where Republican Candy Nobel — who sponsored the bill — argued that “This legislation will bring back this historic tradition of recognizing America’s foundational heritage in both our education and our judicial system,” reported the Texas Scorecard.
In a viral video of the meeting posted to his TikTok account, Talarico stood up for LGBTQ+ rights and calmly explained why, as a Christian, he feels the “bill is not only unconstitutional, it’s not only un-American, I think it is also deeply un-Christian.”
@jamestalarico Texas Republicans are trying to force public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. I told the bill author: “This bill is not only un-constitutional and un-American, it’s deeply in-Christian.” #txlege ♬ original sound - James Talarico
After quoting from the Bible, the Democratic lawmaker said, “A religion that has to force people to put up a poster to prove its legitimacy is a dead religion, and it’s not one I want to be a part of. It’s not one I am a part of.”
Talarico then brings up that this bill seems to go against Republicans’ desire to get parental consent for everything. “Every time on this committee that we try to teach students values like empathy or kindness, we’re told we can’t because that’s the parent’s role,” he said. “Every time on this committee that we try to teach basic sex education to keep our kids safe, we’re told that’s the parent’s role, but now you’re putting religious commandments — literal commandments — in our classroom, and you’re saying that’s the state’s role. Why is that not the parent’s role?”
This question left Nobel silent and searching for words before finally saying, “That’s really an interesting rabbit trail that you’ve gone on with that.”
Later, Talarico asks Nobel, “Do you believe schools are for education and not indoctrination?” to which Nobel answers, “Absolutely.” Then Talarico brings his arguments home, saying, “I guess what I’m trying to figure out is why is having a rainbow in a classroom is indoctrination and not having the Ten Commandments in a classroom.”
The stunning video already has 5.8 million views and 1 million likes on TikTok and is now gaining traction on Threads. But this isn’t the only time the Austin representative has stood up for the rights of Texas students; he’s also fought against unfair school voucher programs, book bans, and even for having Narcan available in schools.
Although it's unclear whether or not Talarico's arguments were a factor in the outcome of the legislation, the time for Ten Commandments legislation expired before the bill could receive a vote and won't be instituted in Texas public schools, the New York Times reported.
Conservative Christians continue their quest to shove their religious beliefs down everyone’s throat, but with lawmakers like Talarico out there, we may have a chance of keeping them out of our schools.
