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Thursday, April 24, 2008

You're Doing It Wrong

Establishment Clause Edition

MIAMI (AP) - Florida drivers can order more than 100 specialty license plates celebrating everything from manatees to the Miami Heat, but one now under consideration would be the first in the nation to explicitly promote a specific religion.

The Florida Legislature is considering a specialty plate with a design that includes a Christian cross, a stained-glass window and the words "I Believe."

Rep. Edward Bullard, the plate's sponsor, said people who "believe in their college or university" or "believe in their football team" already have license plates they can buy. The new design is a chance for others to put a tag on their cars with "something they believe in," he said.


Okay, here are the ground rules the courts have historically set for acceptability. One, the intent cannot be to promote religion at the state level. Let's see how we're doing on that front:

Some lawmakers say the state should be careful. Rep. Kelly Skidmore said she is a Roman Catholic and goes to Mass on Sundays, but she believes the "I Believe" plate is inappropriate for the government to produce.


So far, so good. A believer who thinks it's inappropriate. Wait, maybe we should ask her why...

"It's not a road I want to go down. I don't want to see the Star of David next. I don't want to see a Torah next. None of that stuff is appropriate to me," said Skidmore, a Democrat who voted against the plate in committee. "I just believe that."


Jew jew jew jew jew jew jewy jew jew jew.

Yeah, let's let Ms. Skidmore take a pass on this one. How about going to the plate's sponsor? Will all ideas be treated equally by the state, as it relates to license plate propaganda?

Bullard, the plate's sponsor, isn't sure all groups should be able to express their preference. If atheists came up with an "I Don't Believe" plate, for example, he would probably oppose it.


D'oh.

How about the second rule? What about the fee structure for these plates? Any special treatment of religion there?

The plate would cost drivers an extra $25 annual fee.


Okay, no problem. If everyone pays $25 extra for their vanity plates, we're cool, right? What happens with that money, though?

This isn't the first time a Florida license plate design has created religious controversy. In 1999, lawmakers approved a bright yellow "Choose Life" license plate with a picture of a boy and girl. It raises money for agencies that encourage women to not have abortions.

That generated a court battle, with abortion rights groups saying the plate had religious overtones. But it was ruled legal, and about a dozen states now have similar plates.

[snip]

The group asking for the "I Believe" plate, the Orlando-based nonprofit Faith in Teaching Inc., supports faith-based schools activities.


Oops. State-sponsored funding of evangelical groups to the probable exclusion of (JEWS!) other philosophies?

FAIL.

(Of course, watch the ACLU take this all the way up to the Supreme Court and run into the Scalia stonewall. You know that stained-glass motif is just to appeal to Antonin's Catholic taste.)


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