Washington State County Council Approves 'In God We Trust' For Chamber Walls
A county council in Washington State has become the latest local government to approve the religious phrase "In God We Trust" to grace their chamber walls.
Members of the Pierce County Council approved the religious saying in a 4 to 3 vote Tuesday after two hours of contentious debate between council members and local residents, some of whom argued that the phrase was too religious in nature and therefore made non-Christians in the community feel like outcasts.
According to The Tacoma News Tribune, the council also made the unexpected decision to add "E Pluribus Unum," or "out of many, one" to the motto, although the addition did not satiate the concerns of some citizens who opposed the religious message.
"It doesn't take away the insult," Sam Mulvey, an atheist resident of Tacoma, told the local media outlet.
"This is a secular place to do government business in," another resident, Elaine Nevins added.
Others voiced their support for the quote, telling KIRO-TV that they didn't understand what the controversy was about. "It doesn't have in Mohammed we trust, it doesn't have in Jesus we trust, so it's pretty much universal," Jim McCune, the councilmember who proposed the motto, told the local media outlet.
"I'm actually very puzzled that we have a controversy brewing here," Pierce County committee chair Dan Roach added.
The new religious and secular mottos could appear on Pierce County's chamber walls as early as November, according to Fox News. Pierce County is the latest local government in the country to add the phrase to their chamber walls. Other city councils in South Carolina, Tennessee and multiple other states have also voted to approve the motto.
