Source: The Denver Post
On February 20, 2003 The Denver Post reported that "a bill requiring public buildings in the state, including classrooms, to post donated plaques bearing the national motto 'In God we trust' passed the House on Wednesday morning by a vote of 36-28... Several Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Fran Coleman of Denver, spoke out against the bill, saying it violates the country's founding principles... 'I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state,' she said. 'It's the very thing our country was founded on. Now we're trying to impose certain beliefs. I think that is wrong...' Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, said the national motto is an inoffensive - and already ubiquitous - part of the national dialogue... House Bill 1128, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Stafford, R-Aurora, would not require state agencies to purchase plaques because the expense of doing so in an already tight fiscal year would have made the proposal a political loser... But the bill does require state agencies, including schools, to post plaques that are donated by the private sector. Backers of the measure expect a flood of donated plaques."