In God (or is it Reason?) We Trust; debate continues over slogan on deputies’ cars
Saying the motto is “exclusionary” of some citizens, a group that opposes religion in government has asked Missouri sheriffs to ditch the “In God We Trust” decals now found on many deputy squad vehicles.
Or sheriffs could “balance” their message with a second decal that would read, “In Reason We Trust.”
That’s the suggestion being circulated by Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation.
“We’re asking for a little equal time,” she said.
Neither of those things will be happening in Greene County anytime soon, said Sheriff Jim Arnott, who has previously defended his decision to place the decals on squad cars.
“Here’s how I feel about it. It’s our nation’s motto. And that’s the bottom line. And it’s on all of our currency. It’s probably in 75 percent of the courthouses in the United States. It’s on our county seal,” the sheriff said.
The Missouri Sheriffs’ Association last month voted unanimously to put the decal on squad vehicles throughout the state. Individual departments still have the choice whether to use the decal, association president Rodney Herring, sheriff of Grundy County, told the Missouri Times.
Arnott, who serves as treasurer on board of directors for the sheriffs’ association, said he made the decision to put the “In God We Trust” decals on Greene County squad cars last year, well before the association’s vote. He thought of it when he took office in 2009, but didn’t get around to it until last year.
From her group’s standpoint, Gaylor said, “This is a new and bad trend that is hitting the law enforcement world.”
Similar religious decals first started popping up in Southern states, but Missouri stands out as the “the most egregious case” because the decals can now be found throughout the state, she said.
A call to the executive director of the sheriffs’ association was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.
Gaylor said the decals can make atheist and agnostic citizens — as well as religious citizens who are not monotheistic — feel less protected or singled out by law enforcement.
“I’m just saying there is an injury to non-religious citizens by official government action that ties religion to the police or that ties piety to good citizenship,” Gaylor said.
She added, “From a personal point of view it sends a chilling message to non-believers.”
Arnott said the motto is patriotic and that citizens of Greene County can count on his department to treat them fairly regardless of their beliefs.
“We treat everybody equal,” he said. “And it doesn’t matter race, religion, sex, we’re going to do our job. That (a citizen’s religious beliefs) doesn’t even factor into any decision I would make or that the deputies would make.”
Gaylor’s association is contemplating a lawsuit if it can find a deputy or resident who would have legal standing to challenge the use of the decals, she said.
A deputy from Missouri upset over the decal has already contacted Gaylor’s organization, she said, but she doubts he would be willing to move forward with a suit. Gaylor refused to identify the deputy.
Asked what he would do if a deputy complained about the decal, Arnott said he might tell him or her to seek a job elsewhere.
“Well, I guess he’d have to work somewhere else if he didn’t like it that bad,” Arnott said. “I mean it’s on our currency, so my recommendation is he doesn’t spend any money.”
Gaylor said her group also objects to the national motto.
“‘In god we trust’ is the the kind of motto that belongs in an Islamist state like Saudi Arabia. It doesn’t belong in a secular republic like the United States of America, which is predicated on an entirely godless, secular constitution,” she said, later adding, “If we don’t have god in our constitution, why do we have god in our motto?”
Arnott said Gaylor’s group contacted him last year demanding he remove the decal and he sent them a letter saying, “no” and he hasn’t heard back from them.
The “In God We Trust” motto has been a bit of a hot topic in Springfield this year.
Arnott defended the decals after a Springfield resident complained about them to News-Leader columnist Steve Pokin, who wrote a column about the complaint and the sheriff’s response.
Meanwhile, Justin Burnett, a city councilman from northeast Springfield, earlier this year spearheaded an effort to have the motto displayed at City Hall.
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