‘In God We Trust’ Bill Faces Decisive Wyoming House Vote
A bill that would provide for the display of the motto ''In God We Trust" in public school classrooms and libraries, as well as Wyoming government buildings, will face a third and decisive vote in the Wyoming House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Lawmakers are taking Monday off after several long days debating the state budget last week.
The bill would allow Wyoming residents to donate displays of the motto through the governor's office. Supporters of House Bill 133 on Friday turned back an amendment that would have removed the requirement that the motto would be displayed in classrooms.
Republican Rep. Jamie Flitner, a Republican from Big Horn and Park counties, recalled her days as a school board member, saying ''it used to piss me off" when the legislature told local schools what to do. She urged approval of the amendment.
She also argued the display would get lost on the cluttered classroom walls around the state.
But the bills primary sponsor, Rep. Cheri Steinmetz, a Goshen County Republican, said lawmakers would be well within their rights in passing the bill. She also said ''In God We Trust" is the national motto, and that anyone who objects to the motto would be welcome to drop off their money in her office since the phrase appears on all American money.
In the end, representatives defeated the amendment on a voice vote. If the bill is approved on third reading Tuesday, it will be sent to the Wyoming Senate for further consideration.