JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi is getting a new standard license plate design starting in January, featuring the magnolia that’s also on the state flag, Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday.
The flower in a blue circle will replace the state seal with “In God We Trust” that’s been on the plate since 2019. The phrase sparked a federal lawsuit in 2021 by nonreligious people who said the state was forcing them to have a religious message on their vehicles.
The license plate makeover was not prompted by the lawsuit. Mississippi does a redesign about once every five years, partly to more easily identify drivers who fail to pay annual taxes.
The license plate is also getting a new color scheme, with a white background instead of golden brown. The governor said people submitted more than 400 entries for a design contest, and a commission chose one by Leah Frances Eaton of Starkville.
In March of this year, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves - no relation to the governor - dismissed the lawsuit that three nonreligious residents, American Atheists Inc. and the Mississippi Humanist Association filed to challenge “In God We Trust” on the current plate.
Judge Reeves wrote that the beliefs of the Mississippi plaintiffs are “sincere and deeply rooted,” but the U.S. Supreme Court “resolved a similar dilemma” in 1977 by ruling that people had a First Amendment right to cover “Live Free or Die” on the New Hampshire license plate. That ruling came after a Jehovah’s Witness was convicted a misdemeanor and sentenced to 15 days in jail for covering the phrase because he and his wife said they found it “repugnant to their moral, religious, and political beliefs.”
The Mississippi plaintiffs are asking the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Reeves’ ruling.
On the state flag that voters approved in November 2020, a magnolia is encircled by stars and “In God We Trust.” The stars and phrase are not part of the design for the new license plate.
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