Paxton: Police can display “In God We Trust” on patrol vehicles
AUSTIN — In an official opinion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said law enforcement agencies displaying “In God We Trust” on their patrol cars would likely win any court battles over the issue.
“…Displaying ‘In God We Trust’ on police vehicles is a passive use of a motto steeped in our nation’s history that does not coerce Citizen approval or participation,” Paxton wrote in his opinion. “A law enforcement department’s decision to display the national motto on its vehicles is consistent with that history. Thus, a court is likely to conclude that a law enforcement department’s display of ‘In God We Trust’ on its patrol vehicles is permissible under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
The phrase became a point of controversy earlier this year when the Freedom From Religion Foundation told the Childress Police Department to remove it from patrol cars. Childress Police Department Chief Adrian Garcia became a social media star when he shared his response to the foundation on Facebook, which included him telling the foundation to “go fly a kite.”
Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, and Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, asked in October whether or not police departments can display the phrase, which was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956.
Read more: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/11/paxton-police-can-display-in-god-we-trust-on-patrol-vehicles.html/
= new reply since forum marked as read
