Atheist group accuses Beaumont of promoting religion with decals

Beaumont City Council approved adding "In God We Trust" decals to the city's public safety vehicles. The decals, which have not yet been purchased, may look like these examples created by the city. Beaumont City Council approved adding "In God We Trust" decals to the city's public safety vehicles. The decals, which have not yet been purchased, may look like these examples created by the city. Photo: Photo Provided By City Of Beaumont Photo: Photo Provided By City Of Beaumont Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Atheist group accuses Beaumont of promoting religion with decals 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A national atheist organization that advocates the separation of church and state has accused the City of Beaumont of promoting religion by adding "In God We Trust" decals to city emergency vehicles, citing comments made by council members about religious motives.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote in a letter to the City Council this month that "declaring that the entire city trusts in God unequivocally conflicts with the beliefs of many of its residents."

The foundation said a "concerned city employee who objects to being compelled the display the phrase on their work vehicle" contacted them about the council's decision.

Council members decided at a Jan. 30 meeting to add the decals with the national motto to the city's 185 police, fire and EMS vehicles.

In the letter, Foundation lawyer Madeline Ziegler pointed to comments made by Ward 4 council member Robin Mouton, who proposed the decals, and at-large member Get Williams-Wright, who supported them, as evidence that they have religious reasons for the decision.

Mouton has made conflicting statements about the decals, telling The Enterprise after the Jan. 30 meeting that they are patriotic rather than religious. She said in an interview before the meeting that they would be beneficial because they reflect "the true pursuit of honor and God."

"God is first in my life," she said when asked why she proposed the stickers to council.

Williams-Wright said in an interview with The Enterprise that the motto is a "forceful positive statement."

"When you go out and work, when you go out and investigate, you go out with the hope that you'll come back safe, and trust in God," she said.

Those statements give "the appearance of government endorsement of religion," Ziegler wrote in the letter, citing Enterprise coverage of the January meeting.

The $1,200 needed to buy the stickers will be paid for by Ward 2 council member Mike Getz, who said he supported the idea but strongly opposed using taxpayer money to buy the decals.

He said Thursday that he offered to pay for the stickers because, "I didn't want the discussion of taxpayer money being used to pay for these to be used as an argument not to go forward with this."

Ward 1 representative Virginia Jordan called herself "a pretty big proponent of separation of church and state" but said she won't fight the decision as long as city funds are not used.

Ziegler referenced the distinction drawn by the council about paying for the decals in the Foundation's letter, writing that the decision "indicates that the council recognizes it is inappropriate for the government to fund religious statements.""It is just as inappropriate for the government to display them on government property," Ziegler wrote. "Statements about a god have no place on government-owned cars."

Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled in 2015 that displaying "In God We Trust" on patrol vehicles "is a passive use of a motto steeped in our nation's history that does not coerce citizen approval or participation."

The motto does not force people who disagree with it to participate in prayer or religion, he said, and is allowed under the U.S. Constitution.

"The Freedom From Religion Foundation has no confidence in the Texas Attorney General's Office to make measured, unbiased decisions on the separation of church and state," attorney Sam Grover said, because the office has expressed "a lack of sympathy for religious minorities and non-religious people in the past, and entangled themselves with Christian rights organizations."

After discussing the letter in a closed session meeting this week, the council has decided to take a formal vote on the decals at an upcoming meeting, Mayor Becky Ames said.

Council members initially discussed the decals in a work session and agreed to buy the stickers without voting, because they were not using city money.

Ames said the council decided this week that the decision would be clearer if their reasoning was "spelled out" in a resolution.

"It's good for deliberating bodies to put things on the record," Getz said. "Any formal resolution will state the reasons why the council thinks this is an appropriate action."

Getz said that it "would be different if we were putting a cross or a Star of David," because that would be "emoting government support of a particular religion."

"God is whatever you choose God to be," he said. "For those people that don't believe in a deity, they may be offended, but being offended and being violative of the Constitution are two different things."

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/LizTeitz