I have been a life-long atheist, and thankfully I have always lived in a country where such a point of view is tolerated, and generally doesn't factor into one's judgement of an individual.
It has therefore saddened me to hear about what I see as almost endemic cases of discrimination against those who openly declare themselves as atheists in the United States, a lot of the time this discrimination is conducted by a state government (some states prevent atheists from running for public office).
I, and many others, strongly feel that this sort of prejudice needs to come to an end, and in accordance with the United States constitution, it should certainly not be endorsed by any state government in any form whatsoever. We feel that ending official discrimination sets an example for others.