Washington, D.C. – A federal court in Mississippi has been asked to determine whether the inclusion of the words “In God We Trust” on automobile license plates violates the constitutional protections against the establishment of an official state religion.
In a suit filed Tuesday, three state residents along with the group American Atheists, the Mississippi Humanist Association, and other organizations argued the state’s Commission of Revenue is “violating non-religious people’s freedoms of speech and religion” and “forcing them to display” what is effectively a religious message on their own cars and trucks.
“No state may force a person to be a mouthpiece for the government’s preferred message,” the complaint says. “This freedom from compelled speech is a foundational tenet of American society. Yet the State of Mississippi demands exactly that from every single car owner in the state. In so doing, the state is violating nearly a century of settled First Amendment law.”
Since 2019, the standard-issue Mississippi license plate has featured an image of the state seal – which includes the words “In God We Trust” — in the background. For an additional $33 per year, the state will issue a plate without the seal as a “Paid Specialty Tag.” Some drivers, including those with certain kinds of disabilities as well as the owners and operates of RVs, trailers, and motorcycles may not be purchase alternative plates on which the seal does not appear. All this has the anti-religion groups crying foul.
“Wherever I use my trailer, I am forced to profess a religious idea that I do not believe,” plaintiff Jason Alan Griggs said. “Imagine a Christian having to drive around with ‘In No God We Trust’ or ‘In Allah We Trust.’”
In their suit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to order the state to offer a plate without the seal and thus, without the motto at no additional cost. Geoffrey T. Blackwell, counsel for the American Atheists organization, called the extra fee “a penalty” and said the plate’s current design forced non-believers “
to act as a billboard for the state’s religious message.
Responding to the suit via Twitter, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves expressed his intention to defend the plate’s current design. “I know Mississippi’s values are our strength,” he said, “and I meant it when I said as Governor, I would defend our values every single day! I will defend ‘In God We Trust’ on our tag, on our flag, and on our state seal…. Every. Single. Day,”
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Peter Roff
Peter Roff is affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations and is a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
The people in Mississippi should sue the atheists for trying to stop them from expressing their faith I also know that the American atheist society supports and endorsed the commiecrats
This country is UNDER GOD!!!!!!
At the time, 1956 when the ‘religious’ put the little thing in the pledge of allegiance
‘under god’ the USA was the greatest nation ever in existence.
When my grandparents came to the USA, they abandoned their failed
nation, their failed culture, the failed religion, the failed neighbors.
They then became AMERICANS!
As a result, my religion is the USA. My holy book
is the Constitution— All of the Constitution! I left the fairy tales in the past!
Don’t like it? Move to NY, or any other state you wish. There is nothing in the constitution that says separation of church and state. It does say that CONGRESS may not impose a state sponsored religion. There is no state sponsored religion. Your god can be whatever you wish. You’re god might not be my God. Your god might be the sun, my God is not. So, the statement “In God We Trust” is not state sponsored religion, but rather a statement that accepts that you trust in your God, whatever it is. Money could be your god for all I know.
Atheism has morphed into its own religion complete with its own dogmatic zealots. They run inquisitions no less vile than Spaniards in the Middle Ages hunting out and destroying anything and anyone who speaks freely of their faith in God.
They also do not believe in the ‘guy in the sky’ that no one has ever seen. Hey, please give a nice long list of one nation that is ‘religious’ and it successful. There are none.
Someone needs to tell these people to get a life.
Simple solution – let those who are offended order plates without the phrase.
How petty! Let’s throw away the coins and money too! What happened to one Nation, under GOD, indivisible with Liberty and Justice for all.
That is the pledge of allegiance, which has been bastardized by the religious kooks. The Constitution contains 4,543 words, including the signatures and has four sheets, 28-3/4 inches by 23-5/8 inches each. It contains 7,591 words including the 27 amendments. Please note that there are absolutely no references to any ‘god’ nor ‘jesus’ nor any other deity! There is no reference to any ‘religion’. So where did anyone get the false impression that the USA is a ‘christian’ nation? The USA was formed because the founders knew that religion kills, all religion kills forever. Look south of the USA for absolute proof. A hundred nations, a thousand years, all CATHOLIC and all have exactly 100% failure! The founders knew what they were doing!
Maybe this little sh*t and all Democommies should read the 1st Amendment. It says “Congress shall make no laws, infringing on the right to religion”. No where does it say anything about separation of church and state. It says the state cannot control the church. Come on people, start reading. Besides, this Ding qua isn’t upset with the damn license plate. Atheists’ are upset about the fact, when they die, they will be all dress up and no place to go. Morons
Keep talking to the ‘guy in the sky’. the founders of the USA believed in SCIENCE,. That is discovering the secrets that the ‘guy in the sky’ made, instead of some ignorant guii that turns his collar around backwards and spouts only dogma.
Sorry, WRONG!… Decisions by the SCOTUS are considered as being part of the Constitution. Separation of church and state are in a SCOTUS decision.
Fairy tales are not part of the Constitution, and it should be separated! The framers of the Constitution were in a state of ‘ENLIGHTENMENT’ which means EDUCATION, not dogma and failure.
Forcing the state to remove the current motto involves as specific a viewpoint and position as does displaying the current motto.
I guess that here in Kentucky, we’re next on their list. We have optional license plates which are designed like the standard ones, but with the words “In God We Trust” written on them just under the state name. It seems as if a large majority of motorists here have them ; obviously, that will inevitably offend the atheists’ sensibilities (now THERE’S an oxymoron!) and they will file suit. Oh, yes, BTW – the governor is a Democrat, and not necessarily a conservative one.
Plaintiff Jason Alan Griggs said: “Imagine a Christian having to drive around with ‘In No God We Trust’ or ‘In Allah We Trust.” No problem on the last part since Christians in Egypt pray to Allah – “Allah” being the Arabic word for God [it really is, and it is used in the liturgy in the Coptic rite].
Without compromise we have division. Without the big picture we stray from the rights of all people. When did we become an either or Country? Just because “GOD” is right for the many doesn’t make it right for the whole of humanity. They didn’t ask people that believe in God to sacrifice In God We Trust on your license plates. They simply asked to be able to have it NOT put on theirs. So believing in God gives you the right to judge others? I say believe in God all that you want and amen to you but you don’t have the right to force feed others your views.
.. The Constitution has not one reference to any ‘god’. It refers to a ‘maker’. A lie told often enough becomes the truth. Vladimir Lenin —
The Constitution contains 4,543 words, including the signatures and has four sheets, 28-3/4 inches by 23-5/8 inches each. It contains 7,591 words including the 27 amendments. Please note that there are absolutely no references to any ‘god’ nor ‘jesus’ nor any other deity! There is no reference to any ‘religion’. So where did anyone get the false impression that the USA is a ‘christian’ nation? The USA was formed because the founders knew that religion kills, all religion kills forever. Look south of the USA for absolute proof. A hundred nations, a thousand years, all CATHOLIC and all have exactly 100% failure! The founders knew what they were doing!
The Barbary Treaties 1786-1816
Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli November 4, 1796
ARTICLE 11.
“As the government of the United States of America is not in
any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the
said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing
between the two countries.”