Tennessee AG Opinion Says "Jesus Is Lord" Plates Violate Establishment Clause

Tennessee Attorney General Opinion 10-52 (April 15, 2010) concludes that the state's issuance of a specialty license plate carrying the motto "Jesus is Lord" would violate the Establishment Clause. The Opinion relied on a 2006 decision in a 6th Circuit case holding that Tennessee's messages on specialty license plates are government speech. The Attorney General's Opinion concluded that the proposed specialty plate would amount to an unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion.