Man sues over 'In God We Trust' license plates

[NFS4]

Interesting argument...

INDIANAPOLIS, April 24 (UPI) ? An Indiana man and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing over a free state license plate that says In God We Trust.

Mark Studler told the Indianapolis Star he isn't opposed to the plates but he thinks they should cost $15 like other specialty plates. Studler paid $40 for his environment license plates, $15 of which goes to the state as an administrative fee and $25 toward land conservation.

Everybody should either have to pay the fee or they should all be free, he told the Star.

Of the dozens of specialty plates available in Indiana, the In God We Trust plates are the only generally available ones that are free, Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, told the Star.

Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, supports the free plates. In God We Trust is the national motto, he said.

We mention God in the Declaration of Independence and in many of our founding documents and so I think it's very appropriate and legitimate to encourage the dissemination of this phrase, Smith told the newspaper.

http://www.imedinews.ge/en/news_read/35334
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../20070424/LOCAL19/704240381/-1/LOCAL17

 

[amish]

this is f'n retarded. supposedly the plates are specialty plates but some branches aren't collecting on them.

 

[child of wonder]

Government and religion are supposed to be separate. That's why people fled the Church of England to come here in the first place.

All special plates should be free or none of them should be free.

 

[dmcowen674]

Why are they free?

Who is paying for them???

 

[Kev]

so what does this retard expect to "win" if he wins the lawsuit? do people have so much time on their hands that they need to do crap like this?

 

[FoBoT]

http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/36C3.txt

dang, it is almost like, it is a law or something

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: Kev
so what does this retard expect to "win" if he wins the lawsuit? do people have so much time on their hands that they need to do crap like this?

Probably either have all specialty plates at the standard price or have all specialty plates at the higher price. Seems like he's a concerned consumer who doesn't want to get ripped off much like most people.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: child of wonder
Government and religion are supposed to be separate. That's why people fled the Church of England to come here in the first place.

All special plates should be free or none of them should be free.

None of those plates infer that the State of Indiana has an official religion.

 

[Aikouka]

Maybe he'll get his $15 back .

You know what they should do to solve this problem? Put the fricken phrase on every license plate like they do to our money.

 

[DougK62]

I can understand his reasoning. I live in Indiana and do not like the big "In God We Trust" on the new plates, but when I went to the license branch it was described to me as an "optional" plate - not a specialty plate. I told them I wanted the regular plate and they were just fine with that. Seemed fair to me.

 

[mugs]

Well, he has a good point if that's true... I don't have a problem with the plates, but if they charge $15 administrative fees for other specialty plates, I'm not sure why they wouldn't charge the same for these ones.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Interesting argument...

INDIANAPOLIS, April 24 (UPI) ? An Indiana man and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing over a free state license plate that says In God We Trust.

Mark Studler told the Indianapolis Star he isn't opposed to the plates but he thinks they should cost $15 like other specialty plates. Studler paid $40 for his environment license plates, $15 of which goes to the state as an administrative fee and $25 toward land conservation.

Everybody should either have to pay the fee or they should all be free, he told the Star.

Of the dozens of specialty plates available in Indiana, the In God We Trust plates are the only generally available ones that are free, Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, told the Star.

Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, supports the free plates. In God We Trust is the national motto, he said.

We mention God in the Declaration of Independence and in many of our founding documents and so I think it's very appropriate and legitimate to encourage the dissemination of this phrase, Smith told the newspaper.

http://www.imedinews.ge/en/news_read/35334
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../20070424/LOCAL19/704240381/-1/LOCAL17

Sounds like state endorsement of a religion to me. :thumbsdown:

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: DougK62
I can understand his reasoning. I live in Indiana and do not like the big "In God We Trust" on the new plates, but when I went to the license branch it was described to me as an "optional" plate - not a specialty plate. I told them I wanted the regular plate and they were just fine with that. Seemed fair to me.

The one thing I can think of that would distinguish this from other plates is that with the other plates part of your money ($25) goes to a particular cause. I "donated" $15 to the USS New Jersey with my plates... and then another $54 because I forgot to put the new plates on for 4 months and got a ticket. With these "In God We Trust" plates you're not donating any money to anything - so they could say the $15 "administrative fee" is to cover the cost of maintaining that "donation fund" for wildlife or education or what have you.

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: mugs
Well, he has a good point if that's true... I don't have a problem with the plates, but if they charge $15 administrative fees for other specialty plates, I'm not sure why they wouldn't charge the same for these ones.

I wouldn't say he has a good point. It's more like he has a point that is so unimportant that he has wasted everyone's time who was forced to get involved.

 

[Vic]

Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, supports the free plates. In God We Trust is the national motto, he said.

We mention God in the Declaration of Independence and in many of our founding documents and so I think it's very appropriate and legitimate to encourage the dissemination of this phrase, Smith told the newspaper.

God is not mentioned in the DoI or any other "founding document" that I am aware of (an awfully vague term, as the only documents I would consider to be "founding documents" are the DoI and Constitution). The phrase "In God We Trust" as our national motto does not in any fashion date back to our country's founding.

I agree that the plates should have a fee like other speciality plates, or a more legitimate reason needs to be provided as to why these plates are free while other speciality plates are not.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Sounds like state endorsement of a religion to me. :thumbsdown:

I wouldn't go that far. I went to a private college in Indiana, and if I still lived there I could get plates with my college name on them. The state isn't "endorsing" the college, they're just letting people choose what they want on their license plates.

 

[brandonb]

I don't understand why people can never grasp the concept of "In God We Trust".

It has absolutely nothing to do with religion, its the slogan (war cry) of the union soldiers in battles with the Confederates. "In God We Trust" is used to honor the union soldiers that kept the USA a single country and has nothing to do with religion.

I wish people would figure it out, and stop being morons.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Sounds like state endorsement of a religion to me. :thumbsdown:

I wouldn't go that far. I went to a private college in Indiana, and if I still lived there I could get plates with my college name on them. The state isn't "endorsing" the college, they're just letting people choose what they want on their license plates.

By not charging for them and charging for everything else they sure are.

 

[BS911]

Pathetic.....people sue over the stupidest crap these days. Boohoo....Indiana is giving away a free plate, MUST SUE!!

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: brandonb
I don't understand why people can never grasp the concept of "In God We Trust".

It has absolutely nothing to do with religion, its the slogan (war cry) of the union soldiers in battles with the Confederates. "In God We Trust" is used to honor the union soldiers that kept the USA a single country and has nothing to do with religion.

I wish people would figure it out, and stop being morons.

This is true. But meanings change over the years. And very very few people know this fact. Or how the slogan ended up on our money because the national currency wasn't established until the Civil War.

Note how even the Family Institute proponent of the free plates didn't point to the Civil War, but to the DoI and other "founding documents".

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: brandonb
I don't understand why people can never grasp the concept of "In God We Trust".

It has absolutely nothing to do with religion, its the slogan (war cry) of the union soldiers in battles with the Confederates. "In God We Trust" is used to honor the union soldiers that kept the USA a single country and has nothing to do with religion.

I wish people would figure it out, and stop being morons.

Yeah, "God" has nothing to do with religion. Sure. :disgust:

 

[manowar821]

Real f-ing cute.

"In God we trust" shouldn't be the national motto, but I guess the idiots got us there.

 

[spidey07]

Nobody realize that this enviro-wacko-nut freak needs a license plate? Why is he driving a car if he's such a hippie douche?

Otherwise this suit has no merit. It's an optional plate, not a specialty one. Everybody is free to choose what they want. It's a GREAT idea.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: Vic

Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, supports the free plates. In God We Trust is the national motto, he said.

We mention God in the Declaration of Independence and in many of our founding documents and so I think it's very appropriate and legitimate to encourage the dissemination of this phrase, Smith told the newspaper.

God is not mentioned in the DoI or any other "founding document" that I am aware of (an awfully vague term, as the only documents I would consider to be "founding documents" are the DoI and Constitution). The phrase "In God We Trust" as our national motto does not in any fashion date back to our country's founding.

I agree that the plates should have a fee like other speciality plates, or a more legitimate reason needs to be provided as to why these plates are free while other speciality plates are not.

I'm probably wrong about my interpretation of Divine Providence, but it's generally a theistic ideology and it's used in the DoI.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: brandonb
I don't understand why people can never grasp the concept of "In God We Trust".

It has absolutely nothing to do with religion, its the slogan (war cry) of the union soldiers in battles with the Confederates. "In God We Trust" is used to honor the union soldiers that kept the USA a single country and has nothing to do with religion.

I wish people would figure it out, and stop being morons.

Whilst it certainly does have a historic context about it, by definition, the saying has everything to do with religion.

How can you not see that?