(RNS) Without the approval of the governor, the state of South Carolina will now permit drivers to put “I Believe” license plates on their vehicles.
The legislation, which passed unanimously by the General Assembly on May 22, calls for the plate to contain the words “I Believe” as well as a cross superimposed on a stained glass window.
Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, said in a June 5 letter that he allowed the bill to become law without his signature, which is permitted under the state constitution.
“While I do, in fact, ‘believe' — it is my personal view that the largest proclamation of one's faith ought to be in how one lives one's life,” the governor wrote in a letter to Glenn McConnell, president pro tem of the South Carolina Senate.
He also said he thought the state's General Assembly should not be in the “license plate creation business.”
Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Congress, wrote Sanford on May 20, arguing that the bill is unconstitutional: “The Establishment Clause's most basic precept is that the states may not favor one faith over another.”
State Sen. Lawrence K. Grooms, who co-sponsored the bill, said he didn't think the bill caused constitutional problems, The New York Times reported.
“We have other plates with religious symbols on them and phrases like ‘In God We Trust,' ” said Grooms, a Republican who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. “Just because it's a cross, some very closed-minded people don't believe it should be on a plate.”
The Times reported that the American Jewish Congress and the American Civil Liberties Union are considering suing South Carolina over the issue.