Freedom from Religion Foundation calls for removal of “In God We Trust” stickers

[progressoid]

MADISON, Wisconsin: In a press release the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) announced they have called for seven law enforcement agencies nationwide to remove “In God We Trust” decals from their law enforcement vehicles. The Laclede County Sheriff’s Office was not included in the mailings, although Stone County, Missouri was. Both agencies recently placed the decals on their patrol vehicles.

In the letters, FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor points out that posting “In God We Trust” on police vehicles promotes religion, sending a message of exclusion to nearly a quarter of the U.S. population who identifies as nonreligious.

The letters were sent to to the following agencies:

• Amory Police Department, Miss.

• Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Fla.

• Bonifay Police Department, Fla.

• Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, Va.

• Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, N.C.

• Stone County Sheriff’s Department, Mo.

• Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Fla.

“Spending taxpayer time placing religious messages on patrol cars is beyond the scope of secular government,” wrote Gaylor. “Further, in a time when citizens nationwide are increasingly distrustful of police actions, it is frightening and politically dubious to announce to citizens that law enforcement officers rely on the judgment of a deity rather than on the judgment of the law.”

http://www.417news.com/2015/07/31/freedom-from-religion-foundation-calls-for-removal-of-in-god-we-trust-stickers/

[jonno99]

1. OMG (ducks!)

[AlbertCat]

2. People will just roll their eyes...

and think, "those stupid atheists!"

But the funny thing is that it won't be because they actually trust in god. The phrase is meaningless now. It's just like a kind of icon that represents conformity.

Frankly, I don't want a cop who trusts in the supernatural if I need help....like the FFR statement says.

[LiberalAndProud]

3. How do you know they don't actually.

There's something particularly disconcerting about a man with a gun and a uniform and a god. The wall might be very thin right there.

[AlbertCat]

4. Well....if they actually trusted in god

they wouldn't need a gun, would they?


The phrase means nothing. It's simply displayed as a badge of conformity.

[LiberalAndProud]

5. Could "In God we trust" be conflated to mean "God is on our side?"

I think that is what it's come to mean in many minds. If it meant what it actually says, would it even need to be written?

...except possibly on money to demonstrate that we don't serve manna as if invoking a spell against the actual truth.

[RussBLib]

6. good point

They DON'T trust in God; it's just lip service.

I shudder to think how someone would really act if they truly did trust in God.

[Grammy23]

7. In the State of Florida you have the option to have

In God We Trust on your license plate. If you opt out you just have the name of the county where your vehicle is registered on the lower edge of the plate. I don't know when it was changed because when we moved here in 1989 we did not have that as a choice. Here in NW Florida, you see a mix of tags with the saying on it and others without. I have never heard of anyone being criticized for not getting it on their tag even though there are churches on every corner around here! If you are not affiliated with a church, you better keep quiet about it or you will have some explaining to do. It's easier just to dummy up and avoid the hassle.

[onager]

8. Same in South Carolina, pretty much.

Moved back here recently (where I grew up) after living in Los Angeles for many years.

The DMV offered a choice of 2 free license plates: normal or "In God We Trust" across the top.

According to a recent article in the local paper: those "In God We Trust" police decals are being adopted because of mistrust in the police after Ferguson, North Charleston, etc.

JEEZ how did that mistrust happen? Here locally, just a few weeks ago, a 19-yr-old white kid was shot and killed during an "undercover drug sting." He was sitting in his car, in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, when the sting went down. He panicked and tried to drive off. A cop claims the kid was trying to run over him, and fired 2 shots. The cop said he fired thru the windshield. The coroner said probably not, since the kid was hit in the back and side. Rumor says the coroner also used the word "homicide" to describe the shooting - not "self defense." Case is still ongoing.

[Lordquinton]

9. Coroners have been using that a lot in their reports about police shootings

it rarely gets much press tho. Or court room time...