A Kansas town experienced an uprising of its citizens when council members recently voted to remove the national motto, “In God We Trust,” from police cars there.
The motto now has been restored, by a vote of the same council in Haven, Kansas.
A report from the Family Research Council explained how the council “hastily” voted on May 3 to remove the motto.
“But the residents responded to this move with great resistance. Mayor Adam Wright said he received more than 100 emails from citizens who opposed the abrupt removal of the national motto from police vehicles,” the group reported.
Then, this week, residents “packed the community center to voice their thoughts on the move and witness a re-vote.”
The FRC said its Action division had launched a petition to inform Americans nationwide of the move.
Brent Keilen, FRC Action vice president, reported 19,568 people signed the petition and more than 500 of those were individuals in Kansas.
“Carrying a heavy folder with the names of all who took a stand against the council’s decision, the Family Research Council’s Tim Throckmorton arrived at the meeting … Since he is not a resident of Haven, Throckmorton would not ordinarily be permitted to address the attendees, but Wright gave up his time for the Family Research Council’s representative to speak.”
The report said, “Throckmorton emphasized that approximately 250 law enforcement offices around the country have ‘In God We Trust’ on their vehicles. He talked about the growing concern that God is being removed from the public square at every level and ended by delivering a stack of papers with the names of each of the 19,568 petitioners. The attendees erupted in applause.”
When council members wanted to delay taking action until “there is less pressure,” a citizen informed members, “There’s always going to be pressure.”
It was a 3-2 vote to restore the motto.
“I am so pleased with the decision the council made. They heard the citizens that came up and spoke and said, ‘We didn’t agree with the previous unilateral decision,'” Haven resident Mary Andresen said told a television station interviewer.
Fox News reported the city attorney explained the decision to remove to motto emerged from a desire to maintain separation between church and state, even though the phrase is the national motto.
One council member who brought up the issue originally had complained that she didn’t want the police department to be a forum for discussing God.
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