Lawsuit challenges S.C.'s 'I believe' tags

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By Carolyn Click | The State

Four South Carolina clergy members and a Hindu organization went to court Thursday, challenging the constitutionality of the state's new "I Believe" license plate.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of the clergy members and Hindus by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, contends the Legislature's creation of the tags "improperly advances and endorses religion" while also discriminating against citizens of other faiths.

The specialty plate features the words "I Believe" and a cross, a symbol of Christianity, on a background of a stained-glass window.

"The South Carolina Legislature�s decision to align itself with a single religion — Christianity — runs afoul of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," the lawsuit states, and also violates the right of free speech.

Read the complete story at thestate.com.

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