My letter to the author of this bill:

Rep. Peterson,

I would like to voice my opinion and concerns on the matter of H.B. 127 - License Plate Options which passed committee on February 2, 2016. I would hope that you will reconsider the proposal that this bill makes on the grounds that this will clearly be a state sponsorship of religion if this license plate is no longer just a special interest plate but rather a standard issue plate. As a lifelong citizen of this state, I do not want my tax dollars going to support any particular religious belief or even a lack thereof.

I would ask you to consider whether or not you would also sponsor a license plate as a standard issue plate that stated “In Allah We Trust”, “In Buddha We Trust” or “In The Flying Spaghetti Monster We Trust”? If the answer is no, please realize that you are proposing that the state sponsor your particular brand of religion or view of god. I hope that you see the divisiveness in this matter as well the waste of taxpayer dollars, time, and resources. Also please take into consideration the actual benefit of this to all citizens of the state and not just the ones that would support “In God We Trust.” To be more accurate, you could change it to “In God Some Trust” but I would recommend that you withdraw your bill before this becomes another black eye on Utah that would further the perception that Utah is a theocracy.

In summary, there are far more important issues that should be focused on by our elected officials to better our great state that also do not create an issue of divisiveness amongst the citizens of Utah.