Secular News Daily is reporting a new Georgia law that will require "In God We Trust" on all car license plates. Georgians who don't like it will have to pay extra to get a state-approved sticker to cover it up!
Atheists are naturally up in arms about this glaring violation of the First Amendment. But I sort of like it. I believe this could be one of the best things that happened to secularism in America in the last ten years – if they're foolish enough to go through with it.
Why? Because it could force the Supreme Court to take "In God We Trust" off of our money.
Atheists have objected to "In God We Trust" on currency and as the national motto for decades, but the courts have been unsympathetic. The Supreme Court stated that "In God We Trust" and similar slogans are "protected from Establishment Clause scrutiny chiefly because they have lost through rote repetition any significant religious content."
But having a dollar in your pocket is quite different than being required to drive around with "In God We Trust" on your car for everyone to see. Imagine what Christians would do if they had to drive around in cars that said, "Trust Reason, Because There Is No God." They would be quite within their rights to refuse.
It's hard to imagine that the Supreme Court will be able to sidestep this one. It will reach their doorstep. And once it's there, it's hard to imagine that they would force non-religious citizens to drive around advertising religious beliefs. Maybe I'm naïve, but I don't think so.
Now think about what happens next ... if it's unconstitutional for Georgia to force atheists to have "In God We Trust" on every car, how can you simultaneously allow the slogan on our money? Banning it on license plates while allowing it on money would require a lot of legal sleight-of-hand tricks.
I actually hope Georgia goes through with this discriminatory plan. It will become a perfect opportunity to fight back against the erosion of our First Amendment rights.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
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11 comments:
Dear readers -- I am no longer blogging and after leaving these blogs open for two years have finally stopped accepting comments due to spammers. Thanks for your interest. If you'd like to write to me, click on the "Contact" link at the top. Thanks! -- CJ.
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And this is why there are zombies in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteSadly, the reality is that they will simply just order that the DMV provide the state approved covering free of charge at the DMV pissing away more tax payer dollars.
ReplyDeleteMust have been asleep when this happened in Indiana. Nothing came of it.
ReplyDeleteIt was not mandatory in Indiana
DeleteNo, In Indiana you have a choice of license plates. When the program started there were some DMV employees that tried to push the "In God we Trust" plates as the only option, but those were isolated problems. You can get a godless plate for no cost. I have one myself.
ReplyDeleteThis is not actually law in Georgia. In GA this is what is known as the "silly season," during which legislators pre-file all kinds of crazy bills, many of which will not become law.
ReplyDeletehttp://onlineathens.com/opinion/2011-12-01/editorial-legislative-silly-season-full-swing
I don't quite see your reasoning. What you're saying is that though the Supreme Court allows it on money, they won't allow it on licence plates. And because they won't allow it on licence plates, they can't allow it on money. This is somewhat circular.
ReplyDeleteNo, you're assuming they "allow" it on money. What's really happened is that they've avoided the question for decades. The last significant decision was long before the rise of modern atheism and secularism, and it was easy for them to dismiss atheist concerns. Now the question has come up again in a different guise, one that will be much harder to avoid. This case is such a glaring violation of the separation clause and the rights of atheists, who are now one of the largest "faith" groups, that they won't be able to brush it off with platitudes and rationalizations.
ReplyDeleteOr you could get one of these plates, tape over the offending words yourself, and wait to be arrested for a "non-official" sticker. The ensuing court case could be fun.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a problem with 'In g0d we trust'.
ReplyDeletebecause it is a very true statement.
In g0d I trust absolutely to do absolutely NOTHING!
I don't automatically trust anyone else for anything.
actually, it's not "our" money. the fed.reserve is a private organization.
ReplyDelete