SC attorney general says his defense of “I Believe” plate is appropriate

It may have raised a few eyebrows when South Carolina’s attorney general, Henry McMaster, spoke at a rally Wednesday night that was organized to support the state’s “I Believe” license plate. After all, a federal judge issued an injunction last month ordering the state to halt sales, production and advertisement of the plate because it’s likely a federal court would find the plate unconstitutional.

But McMaster says it’s appropriate for him to get involved on the side of plate supporters. “The attorney general of the state is supposed to take a strong position on the side of the Constitution,“ he says.  “A large percentage of cases are reversed. That means that the lower court was wrong. We think this lower court is wrong in this case.“ 

The injunction came after four South Carolina Christian and Jewish clergymen, along with Hindu and Arab organizations, sued to prevent the state from implementing the law that created the plates. The injunction stops the plate until the case is heard, but a court date has not been set. Their argument is that the plate makes it look like the state of South Carolina is endorsing Christianity above any other religion, since the plate contains a cross over a stained glass window and the words “I Believe” across the top of the plate.

Federal Judge Cameron Currie’s injunction says federal courts would likely find the law that created the plates a gross violation of the Constitution’s amendment against establishing a religion.

But McMaster says a license plate doesn’t “establish a religion”, which is what’s banned by the Constitution, since other religions can also have their own plates. “So if someone wanted a Hindu plate or a Buddhist plate or any other kind, or a Muslim plate, they could get that. Just get somebody to introduce it, pass it. They have to have enough people to have ‘em printed. But I don’t consider that establishing a religion,“ he says.

He says his office’s defense of the plate is being done at taxpayers’ expense, just like the thousands of other cases his office handles.  Since it’s one of thousands, though, he can’t say how much this one particular case has cost. He says his trip to the Upstate for the pro-plate rally was also at taxpayers’ expense, just like all the other speeches he gives and appearances he makes around the state to explain and answer questions about other cases his office is handling.