Mississippi removes ‘In God We Trust’ in license plate redesign

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi is getting a brand new commonplace license plate design beginning in January, that includes the magnolia that’s additionally on the state flag, Gov. Tate Reeves stated Tuesday.

The flower in a blue circle will change the state seal with “In God We Trust” that’s been on the plate since 2019. The phrase sparked a federal lawsuit in 2021 by nonreligious individuals who stated the state was forcing them to have a non secular message on their autos.

The license plate makeover was not prompted by the lawsuit. Mississippi does a redesign about as soon as each 5 years, partly to extra simply determine drivers who fail to pay annual taxes.

The license plate can be getting a brand new coloration scheme, with a white background as a substitute of golden brown. The governor stated individuals submitted greater than 400 entries for a design contest, and a fee selected one by Leah Frances Eaton of Starkville.

In March of this 12 months, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves – no relation to the governor – dismissed the lawsuit that three nonreligious residents, American Atheists Inc. and the Mississippi Humanist Association filed to problem “In God We Trust” on the present plate.

Judge Reeves wrote that the beliefs of the Mississippi plaintiffs are “sincere and deeply rooted,” however the U.S. Supreme Court “resolved a similar dilemma” in 1977 by ruling that individuals had a First Amendment proper to cowl “Live Free or Die” on the New Hampshire license plate. That ruling got here after a Jehovah’s Witness was convicted a misdemeanor and sentenced to fifteen days in jail for masking the phrase as a result of he and his spouse stated they discovered it “repugnant to their moral, religious, and political beliefs.”

The Mississippi plaintiffs are asking the conservative fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Reeves’ ruling.