Fayette County commissioners have unanimously passed a resolution to recognize “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States.
The resolution that passed also supports the display of the national motto in Fayette County buildings and on marked county-owned first responder vehicles.
Fayette County is in west Tennessee, and Somerville is the county seat.
County Commissioner Tim Goodroe submitted the resolution.
On his Facebook page, Goodroe said the town of Oakland just passed a similar resolution. This, after Oakland, Tenn. Alderman Ken Sutton took Goodroe’s original resolution and modified it to say ‘Oakland, Tennessee.’
Goodroe told The Tennessee Star last week that he did not understand why other areas have not passed similar resolutions.
“The moral fabric in our society is unraveling before our very eyes. Movements and change is made on the local levels. If we hide our trust in God, what else are we hiding? We must fight against the ‘Cancel Movements’ that seek to remove God and history from society,” Goodroe said in an email.
“You can find federal court rulings that support the national motto and states that it does not violate the establishment clause along with other valuable info containing other county and municipal governments that have officially recognized and affirmed the national motto at www.InGodWeTrust.com.”
“My hope is that this trend with the other Fayette County Municipalities and continues across the state with momentum,” Goodroe said, adding not everyone is happy about his proposal.
“During this process, I received a nasty letter from an anonymous writer with no return address,” Goodroe said, adding whoever wrote it mailed it from a Memphis post office.
“It was misguided and hateful and ignores federal court rulings.”
Goodroe said Roane County officials passed a similar resolution three years ago.
Other county commissioners in Fayette include Charles E. Dacus Jr., Fred Benton Farley, Willie L. German Jr., and Terry L. Leggett.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
