What does it say about a state when a license plate is making the front page of all the papers and is the lead story on the local news? 'I Believe' it means there are issues with that state. And that's not my opinion. That's a judge's opinion, who granted an injunction this week to halt the production of the Christian-themed 'I Believe' license. But besides the plate itself, which raises SO MANY PROBLEMS in and of itself, most people that I've talked with about it or emailed or called into our newsroom don't seem to even understand what the legal battle is about. And that may be the worst thing of all.
It all started this summer when Lt. Governor Andre Bauer sponsored a bill to create a license plate that affirmed Christianity. The legislature voted for the bill.....UNANIMOUSLY. It took about a quarter of a millisecond for a lawsuit to be filed to send the plate straight to hell. And with this week's injunction, the plate is now dead until further legal battles make their way through the courts.
I can't imagine any of the state lawmakers or the governor (who allowed the plate to become law by not vetoing it, although he didn't sign the bill, either.) didn't know that a lawsuit would immediately follow it's passage. And so now, with a state budget undergoing over $1 billion in cuts, the government is paying for this legal battle they say they will fight all the way to the Supreme Court. But the lawyer for the group who is trying to the kill the plate says it will never get that far, because, of course, the Constitution is pretty clear that government can't sponsor anything religious.
Which brings me back to my main point. Most people I've encountered think the lawsuit is aimed at stopping Christian license plates. Period. It isn't. It's aimed at stopping the government from sponsoring such license plates. If your church wants to sponsor an 'I believe' plate, they say, 'Enjoy.'
In working on this story, I came across some pretty funny license plates you can actually order from the South Carolina DMV. Check 'em out.
BTW--The first license plate lawsuit was in New Hampshire over 25 years ago when a group objected to the state's motto, 'Live Free or Die', being displayed on all plates. They won. Florida and Louisiana, however, shot down a group that objected to the 'Choose Life' license plates. Virginia also shot down a group who objected to a Son's of Confederate Veterans license plate that displayed the Confederate Flag.
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