Governor Abbott Sends Letter To AG Paxton Offering Support To Childress Police Department
Governor Greg Abbott today sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton supporting the Childress Police Department’s decision to display our national motto, “In God We Trust” on its patrol vehicles. Following the Department’s decision to display this motto, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) threatened the Department with legal action and local members of the Texas Legislature subsequently requested an Attorney General Opinion on the permissibility of the display.
“As the Supreme Court has held time and again, the Constitution commands acknowledgement and accommodation of religion, rather than hostility towards religion,” writes Governor Abbott. “Given these well-established principles, it is unsurprising that ‘In God We Trust’ has survived every legal challenge.”
Governor Abbott goes on to offer his full support to the Childress Police Department saying, “There can be no doubt that courts in Texas would uphold the constitutionality of the Childress Police Department’s decision to place ‘In God We Trust’ on the department’s patrol vehicles. If the Childress Police Department chooses to continue this patriotic display, it will have my full support.”
In December 2011, the FFRF sent a letter threatening to sue Henderson County, Texas, if the county refused to take down a nativity display on the courthouse grounds. In December 2014, the American Humanist Association sent a similar letter to the county judge in Cherokee County, Texas, demanding the removal of a courthouse nativity display. As then-Attorney General, Governor Abbott offered his support to both counties in the event that the organizations followed through with the lawsuits. Neither organization followed through with the threat.