Pastor in Oklahoma pursues suit against ‘pagan’ license plate

A Methodist pastor of a suburban Oklahoma City church is suing the state, claiming its license plate image of a Native American shooting an arrow into the sky violates his religious liberty.

The pastor, Keith Cressman of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Bethany, contends the image of the Native American compels him to be a “mobile billboard” for a pagan religion. Methodist leaders termed the suit frivolous and said it was stirring ill will in the denomination.

A trial judge threw out the suit. But on June 11, the Denver-based Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the suit can proceed, saying Judge Joe Heaton should have recognized that Cressman’s suit contained a “plausible compelled speech claim.”