As much as the next heathen, but this is just stupid.

COLUMBIA, S.C — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that South Carolina can't issue license plates showing the image of a cross in front of a stained glass window along with the phrase "I Believe."

U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie's ruling said the license plate was unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment ban on establishment of religion by government.

Within hours, a private Christian group said the ruling doesn't stand in the way of its "plan B" to get a similar plate issued using a state law that permits private groups to issue tags they design.

The fight over the plates started shortly after Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer helped push the legislation through in 2008. Groups including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee challenged the state's ability to put a religious message on a state license tag.

Either let them all do it on their plates or not let any of them. No discrimination from the government.

but this isn't something that everyone has to get correct??? I personally don't feel the need to get a special license plate...but if others want to...ok. I can think of better ways to use my money though

Sheesh! And I live in Columbia, SC too. I hate this state. Thanks to the military for dropping my family off here to retire here and suffer. Blah! Well, I'm suffering.

Ypu're right, that was dumb of what they did

lol you despise people for standing up to their constitutional rights?

maybe I am missing something. What is stopping others from doing the same???? If a private group does this (and people get specialized plates all the time with names, etc) what is stopping others?

If I understand correctly...the state isn't doing this...a private group is.

I didn't know anything about this. I'm not able to watch the news or receive the newspaper. This is just bizarre to me.

You despise Christianity. I'm trying to make sense out of that statement. I can understand not believing the same way or if a mob of Christians burned your house down but to say you despise Christianity is...well, peculiar to me. But, I've spent as much time on this as I want to.

I didn't know about this either...First time I heard about it

A church group wants to do this and this judge is telling the state that the state cannot issue these license plates. the group could print them up themselves for use on the front of their cars because the state will no be printing them and that would be ok, but the state cannot print official plates with this on them apparently.

I can despise whatever or whomever I want.

so the cost is coming from the group correct??? and the state isn't actually doing anything????

I am assuming this isn't different tan getting a customized license plate with names or something on them that people pay extra for.

Here is the rest of the article.



The fight over the plates started shortly after Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer helped push the legislation through in 2008. Groups including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee challenged the state's ability to put a religious message on a state license tag.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, said government must never be allowed to give favorable treatment to one faith above others.

"That's unconstitutional and un-American. Some officials seem to want to use religion as a political football," Lynn said, calling it an "appalling misuse of governmental authority, and I am thrilled that the judge put a stop to it."

Currie ordered the state to cover those groups' legal expenses.

Her ruling singled out Bauer after he pushed a tag Christian advocates sought in Florida, but legislators there did not approve.

Bauer wanted to accomplish in South Carolina what had been unsuccessful in Florida, Currie wrote: To "gain legislative approval of a specialty plate promoting the majority religion: Christianity. Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same. The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation."

Bauer said he wasn't surprised by the ruling and would like to see it appealed.

"I don't expect anything different from a liberal judge who was appointed by Bill Clinton," Bauer said. "If she wants to single me out, so be it."

Bauer said it "once again shows how liberal judges are not just interpreting the law but making legislation."

But the Palmetto Family Council will try to get the tags on the cars faster. The council registered "I Believe" as a group's name with the South Carolina Secretary of State in March as the license tag case simmered on Currie's docket.

"This is day one for that process," said Oran Smith, the council's president. "If we meet all the requirements, which I hope we would as an organization, we would certainly want to move forward very quickly with our own 'I Believe' tag."

No design had been settled on, but Smith likes the cross and stained glass design in the tag Currie nixed. It "makes the kind of statement we'd want to make," he said.

Americans United hasn't taken a position on the council's new plans to get the plate produced, legal director Ayesha Khan said.

"It is a different thing because it would be privately initiated," she said, but there may remain legal challenges for the state Department of Motor Vehicles handling such a tag.

And what of Bauer's call for an appeal? "They're just squandering public dollars," Khan said

I don't see a problem with this because you have an option to buy or not buy these plates; of which, like all other specialty plates there is an extra charge when you register your car each year. So its not like the state is spending money or promoting anything.

I can relate to despising it. It doesn't have all of the blame, of course, but if you really look at Christianity closely, and the horrors that it allows to continue on a day to day basis, then you may begin to understand better how someone can hate a religion that is based on love.

I agree with the statement. No one is preventing other groups from doing the same. I'm still not seeing the problem. It's not exclusive to one group and the groups are paying the cost. If a Wiccan group wants to have some that say "Blessed be" or something like that...they can. If Atheists want something for them...they can

Maybe I'm missing the whole outrage or something.

I must be too.

That's stupid. It's only a violation of the constitution if they make you have that particular license plate or if they allow for no other religions to have one.

It's not like the state is saying this group can't get bumper stickers printed and put them near the license plate.

Ask yourself why this wouldn't be acceptable to them and you'll have your answer why it violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

-Kerry O.