Bush seals the deal: 'In God We Trust' is official state motto

You just thought "In God We Trust" was Florida's state motto.

After all, isn't it there on the state seal? Been there since Reconstruction days?

t's there, all right, but a search of state statutes would come up empty.

Until Thursday.

Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law a bill that makes "In God We Trust" the state's motto not just by custom since 1868, but officially.

"It wasn't until Andrew Killinger and Samual Ard, two industrious fourth-graders at Maclay School here in Tallahassee, couldn't find the motto in our laws and started the process of getting it adopted," Bush said. "Thanks to their efforts . . . we will sign this bill into law."

The 10-year-olds were nonchalant about their success Thursday. The final act started with a class assignment to write about the state motto. That hit a snag when they discovered that an official one didn't exist.

"We thought we'd get a bad grade," Andrew said.

"I didn't really believe it," Samual said.

But their lobbyist parents suggested doing something about it. They approached Rep. Greg Evers, a Baker Republican, who sponsored the bill.

Bush signed the law at a public ceremony during this year's Boys State, a leadership convention of teen boys sponsored by the American Legion.

Evers said it's a testament to citizen involvement.

"This is a statement that will ring throughout the state," Evers said. "Government is of the people and by the people. Sometimes we as elected officials forget that. This takes it back to the grass roots."

Lori Killinger, Andrew's mother, said it didn't hurt to have appealing boys carrying the bill through committee hearings.

"It was a state motto that could have brought out people who opposed it," she said. "I was very mindful of that."

A House staff analysis raised the issue of constitutionality, but concluded that federal courts have said mentioning God is OK.

"It is quite obvious that . . . 'In God We Trust' has nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion. Its use is of patriotic or ceremonial character and bears no true resemblance to a governmental sponsorship of a religious exercise," ruled the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Arizona, Ohio and South Dakota also have state mottoes that mention God.

The bill sailed through, passing both House and Senate unanimously.

"I knew it was a real success story when people wanted to get on the bill," with amendments, Lori Killinger said.

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Look out here comes the ACLU on this one!