Suit was filed yesterday in a Mississippi federal district court by atheist and secular humanist plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of Mississippi including the state seal– which carries the motto “In God We Trust” — on its standard license plate. The complaint (full text) in Griggs v. Graham, (SD MI, filed 6/22/2021) alleges violations of both the free speech and free exercise clauses, saying in part:
The Standard Tag … sends an ideological message endorsed by … the State of Mississippi…. The Defendant enforces Mississippi statutes and maintains regulations, policies, practices, and customs that require a car owner to display license tags delivering the State of Mississippi’s chosen ideological message….
The statutes, rules, policies, practices, and customs enforced by Defendant … are not neutral. Not only is “IN GOD WE TRUST” an expressly religious message, but the public statements of Mississippi officials … demonstrate that hostility toward the Plaintiffs and other Mississippi car owners who lack religious beliefs was a motivation for selecting the current Standard Tag design.
WLOX reports on the lawsuit.