Florida Senate approves religious license plates

[seafan]

Florida Senate approves religious license plates

By Amy Hollyfield, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
April 25, 2009



The Senate approved this tag without seeing it.

TALLAHASSEE — If you want Jesus on your license plate, the Florida Senate is looking out for you.
Because why worry about a budget impasse or property insurance when you can spend more than an hour talking about Jesus, the devil and license plates?

Religious specialty plates offered by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, and Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, made it onto a bill Friday even though many members had not seen images of those plates and none was produced for the debate.
Siplin didn't mince words when asked what his "Trinity" plate looks like, saying, "It has a picture of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ." It, along with a "Preserving the Past" plate offered by Siplin, would benefit the Toomey Foundation for the Natural Sciences.

Storms' "I Believe" plate would benefit Faith in Teaching, an Orlando company that funds faith-based programs at schools. Its design features a cross over a stained-glass window.

Several members had concerns about approving plates they had not seen. And one questioned using religious symbols at all.
"The issue is whether the state of Florida ought to be producing license plates with religious images on them," said Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, "and I don't believe that we should."

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The Jeb Bush acolytes keep marching on.