Satanic Temple threatens to sue Mississippi if ‘In God We Trust’ ends up on state flag
The Satanic Temple plans to sue Mississippi if “In God We Trust” ends up on the state’s new flag.
The organization, in a letter to state Attorney General Lynn Fitch, asked the state to consider how the phrase could make atheists, Satanists and people from other groups feel excluded, WLOX and The Hill reported on Wednesday.
New flags are being considered after Mississippi legislators last month voted to retire its old design, which had a consider how the phrasethe Sun Herald reported. The bill said the updated flags had to include the phrase “In God We Trust,” according to the newspaper.
“Removing one divisive symbol of exclusion only to replace it with a divisive phrase of exclusion does not eliminate exclusion, but rather moves it from one group to a collection of others,” Marc Randazza, lawyer for The Satanic Temple, said in the letter, according to a news release.
For years, debate has surrounded the flag and other symbols of the Confederacy. While some people contend they recognize Civil War era history, others argue they symbolize white supremacy and should be taken down.
In recent weeks, many Confederate monuments have been the targets of vandalism and relocation efforts, McClatchy News reported.
Renewed calls for change erupted after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about eight minutes. That officer and three others were charged and fired from their jobs.
The Satanic Temple says it is a “nontheistic international religious organization.” On its website, the group says its mission “is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.”
If the group pursues a lawsuit against Mississippi, it wouldn’t be the first time “In God We Trust” has been at the center of a court case.
In the 1978 case of O’Hair v. Blumenthal, the Supreme Court said it agreed with a Ninth Circuit ruling that the phrase didn’t have a religious impact, according to justia.com.
“The language in Supreme Court cases also indicates that the national motto, and its use on coin and currency, does not infringe on First Amendment rights,” the website said.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Satanic Temple threatens to sue Mississippi if ‘In God We Trust’ ends up on state flag."
