I Believe License Plates In Florida
In regards to the proposed “I Believe” Florida license plates, Mark Rose is correct when he says “The ACLU is going to have a cow.” In fact, according to Chris Kromm, they have already had that cow.
Does this type of thing violate the First Amendment? If an “I Don’t Believe” plate is proposed and not turned down, then what’s the big deal? These are PERSONALIZED plates, are they not? Are atheists and people from other religions going to be forced to buy these plates? Of course not. Possibly, the proper thing to do, in the ACLU’s case is to ask the legislature to approve other plates for other religions.
That proposal was addressed in the article by a Florida, you guessed it, Democrat.
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.
“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.”
Why is she so afraid of a Star of David or even a Star and Crescent for that matter? If somebody wants to express their religion on their license plate on their car, how does it affect her freedom? It doesn’t, of course. Some people took a similar position in Tennessee a while back with the “Choose Life” plates. I suggested that the opposition create a “Choose Death” plate to offset. That suggestion didn’t get too far, of course.
Seriously though, why does the ACLU take on these battles? Rather than supporting the separation of church and state, they often end up just opposing religious freedom. Like I said earlier, requesting plates for other religions would be a more understandable position to take. But they really shouldn’t even do that, not unless a request by a Jewish, Muslim, or other group was actually turned down.
When are the pro-choice license plates going to be available in TN ? ?
They already are. They say “Choose Life”. In case you are new to the English language, the word “choose” is derived from the word “choice”.
There are so many problems!
In the first place, I have a feeling you would feel quite differently if the license plate in fact said “Allu Akbar.”
In the second place, I don’t see how this is a religious freedom exercise. This is a matter of the government selling religious paraphernalia.
Is it really THAT big of a deal? Probably not. But keep in mind that according to the AP story: “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.”
That is an absurd contradiction.
More people support impeachment of Bush than do abolishing women’s reproductive rights. I guess it’s time for “Impeach Bush Now” license plates.