Despite quite a few impassioned speakers against the resolution, the Huntington Beach city council voted Monday to display “In God We Trust” in their chambers. Surf City will join Westminster, Cypress, Mission Viejo and San Clemente, all of which have approved displays in the last year.

The council’s meetings, including comments from the public and council discussion, are available online.

Update: Cindy Carcamo’s story is up here, with quite a few more details:

Unlike other cities in the county where the motto passed without much dissent, the issue divided Huntington Beach Council members — some in support, and some who said the measure was politically motivated.

Councilmembers voted 4-2 in favor of the display, and approved formation of an ad hoc committee to recommend sign and display methods.

Council members Debbie Cook and Jill Hardy voted against the display, stating that the motto would alienate rather than unite people. Keith Bohr, who also said he opposed the display, abstained from voting.

Considering she’s running for congress, it’s refreshing that Debbie Cook didn’t just take the easy route and either vote yes or abstain, since her “no” vote could be used against her in her campaign. Someone should also tell Bohr (and the councilmembers elsewhere) that abstentions should be used for conflicts of interest - if you think something isn’t the council’s business, vote no.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 11:31 pm and is filed under Atheist, Church/State, In God We Trust. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.