Texas Agency Ignores The Constitution

Once again Rick perry and his right-wing fundamentalist appointees have decided that the Constitution of the United States has no relevance in Texas. After all, why bother with a trivial constitutional right like religious freedom, when they can put the state government in the position of favoring their own religion over all others. Evidently those misguided Founding Fathers didn't understand the joys of a state-approved religion when they penned and approved the Bill of Rights.

Yesterday the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board, following the lead of Governor Rick Perry (who held a christians-only rally last August in Houston), approved a speciality license plate celebrating the christian religion (pictured above). Of course there is no speciality plate honoring islam, hinduism, judaism, taoism, buddhism, or any other religion -- evidently because the state's officially-approved religion is now christianity. And of course there is no speciality plate honoring the right to be an atheist (heaven forbid!). While christians now have the right to broadcast their religion on state-approved license plates, no other religious belief can do that in the Texas theocracy.

Making matters worse is the fact that when the now-approved specialty plate was up for public discussion a large number of Texans opposed it. The board (composed entirely of Perry appointees) wasn't really interested in what the public thought. They were just going through the motions until they could give their final approval for the new state-approved religion.

Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller expressed her disappointment at the state's unconstitutional action:

“It’s become pretty clear that our governor is dismissive of religious beliefs other than his own, and now his governmental appointees have voted to send a message that Texas is unwelcoming to the religious faiths of some of its citizens. The truth is that giving government the power to play favorites with faith ultimately diminishes religious freedom for everyone.”


Pastor of the University Baptist Church in Austin, the Reverend Dr. Larry Bethune, agreed with Ms. Miller saying:

“I’m disappointed to see the state endorse a particular faith, even if it’s mine, and to see Christians trivialize our faith into slogans and symbols on the back of a bumper."

All I can say at this point is that Americans are very lucky that the Republican Party outside Texas seems to be rejecting theocratic despot Rick Perry. He would have loved the opportunity to make his brand of right-wing christianity the state-approved religion for the entire nation.