Sheriff: 'In God We Trust' Decals About Freedom, Patriotism

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The movement to place ‘In God We Trust’ decals on public safety vehicles is now official in Bartow County.

The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office this week rolled out the decals on its vehicles. The move came just a week after Sheriff Clark Millsap told Cartersville Patch of his plans to join his “brother sheriffs” in the region in placing the decals on his cars.

Millsap said the decals will be on about 100 marked units, including those belonging to the agency’s patrol, Criminal Investigations Division and the H.E.A.T. units.

Bartow’s sheriff said he was ready to purchase the decals out of his own pocket ”so I didn’t have any headaches” about using county taxpayer dollars for the initiative. However, Millsap said an anonymous donor stepped forward and took care of the agency’s plans.

Millsap’s move comes on the heels of Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats’ decision to place the decals on that county’s patrol vehicles, according to WRGA.

Additionally, both Paulding and Douglas county sheriffs have made the decision to add the decals to their respective vehicles.

“When I first saw it, I thought that it was awesome, so I wanted us to be part of it also,” he said, adding other sheriff’s offices and police departments around the nation are also taking part in similar initiatives.

Since Millsap’s announcement last week and the agency’s subsequent follow-up action, Millsap stated all the Bartow County voters he’s talked to have expressed their support. Most of the people who’ve expressed their disapproval or criticism, he added, were not even Bartow County or Georgia residents.

“I knew we were going to have some negative flack from some folks, but like I said from the start, this doesn’t have anything to do with what religion you are,” he said. “It has to do with the principles this country was found on. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. This is about freedom. This is about America. This is about patriotism.”

Millsap said ‘In God We Trust’ is on the United States currency and has been for years. Additionally, in Georgia, instead of residents placing the name of the county they reside in on their vehicle’s license plates, they can choose to put an ‘In God We Trust’ sticker in its place.

The sheriff said he has yet to receive any threats of a lawsuit from organizations or residents stemming from his decision.

“I felt like it was the right thing to do, and I felt like America needs to get back to being America,” he added.

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Photo credit: Bartow County Sheriff’s Office