Last time the South Carolina license plates which promote Christianity were in the courtroom, an injunction was handed down, preventing the plates from being issued.
Nearly a year later, the plates were back in the courtroom, and this time, the same judge says the plates are unconstitutional (PDF):
Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same,” Currie wrote. “The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation.
Besides the obvious reason this there is an entanglement of church and state, why is the plate a bad idea? Because not all faiths get the same opportunity. Some state legislators even said they “would not vote for similar plates for minority faiths.”
Meanwhile, there’s no problem with the “In Reason We Trust” plates sponsored by the Secular Humanists of the Low Country. If you want it, you pay for it. Taxpayer money isn’t involved.
For some reason, the Christians pushing this “I Believe” plate think everyone else ought to pay for promotion of their religion. It’s pathetic and it’s illegal.
Thankfully, the judge has now put a stop to it.
