NJ woman's rejected atheist license plate violates First Amendment

[Scott5114]

I always thought BLZBUB would make a good plate!

Too much political correctness is going on these days and we get it from both the Left and the Right.  Strange to see how when I discuss politics in a road/transport context a mod gets his panties in a bit of a bunch but this thread goes on without such.  See what I mean about "political correctness"?  Just like everyplace else including the dillrods at the DMV, this site has some who hate freedom and wish to muzzle discussion.  Here's what I got to say about that: "¹^"º "¹(-¿-)"º "¹^"º

For the rest of you who are more free-spirited, keep on keepin' on!

Rick

That's because this thread has not become a thread of "Let's bash Democrats/Republicans/individual members thereof". All that causes is people arguing that their team is better than your team and does little to change anyone's mind on the subject.

If you want MTR, you know where to find it.

[Laura]

The best part about my car being stolen when I lived in Tucson was that I got new plates- the original ones I got down there were ANL4504. I hated having ANL on the back of my car.

Your car was stolen? That's awful!

I had my license plates stolen when I lived in Baltimore City. The person got caught with my plates just past the city line, which is kind of amusing: all that effort on their part for nothing. However, I lost my easy to remember state issued plates (5AK6744) for an random bunch of numbers and letters. Interestingly, this is a case where having vanity plates would have been better: nobody's going to steal plates that would attract attention.


iPhone

[Jardine]

STOLEN

That might backfire one day. In the past, owners of such plates as NO PLATE, MISSING, NOTAG, and XXXXXXX have received tickets for other cars that, in fact, had no license plates. (Verified by Snopes for your convenience!)

As I recall, that really was the last name of the owner of the car.

[jeffandnicole]

I started remembering this story from several years ago:

http://www.wxii12.com/Potentially-Offensive-License-Plate-To-Be-Replaced-For-Free/4491478

Basically, an (older) woman received a new license plate that contained 'WTF'.  She didn't think anything of it.  Her much younger grandchild knew what it meant though.  Only then did this woman call the DMV.  Of course, she was all upset and offended she was given such a license plate...even though she wasn't offended by it at all originally!

[hbelkins]

New York issues standard plates with the first letter increasing alphabetically. They're up to the Gs now, but the Fs were being issued for several years fairly recently. I have lost count of how many times I have seen a car with NY plates where the three letters are "FAP". Here is one example:


Guess the DMV isn't aware that means something naughty.

What's naughty about Federal Aid Primary?

My first thought upon seeing FAP was Federal Aid Primary. Someone's going to have to point me to a link to explain what an alternative meaning of FAP might be that someone might find objectionable.

[sammi]

Someone's going to have to point me to a link to explain what an alternative meaning of FAP might be that someone might find objectionable.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fap

[nexus73]

I always thought BLZBUB would make a good plate!

Too much political correctness is going on these days and we get it from both the Left and the Right.  Strange to see how when I discuss politics in a road/transport context a mod gets his panties in a bit of a bunch but this thread goes on without such.  See what I mean about "political correctness"?  Just like everyplace else including the dillrods at the DMV, this site has some who hate freedom and wish to muzzle discussion.  Here's what I got to say about that: ‹^› ‹(•Â¿•)› ‹^›

For the rest of you who are more free-spirited, keep on keepin' on!

Rick

That's because this thread has not become a thread of "Let's bash Democrats/Republicans/individual members thereof". All that causes is people arguing that their team is better than your team and does little to change anyone's mind on the subject.

If you want MTR, you know where to find it.

Funny how you make assumptions about what I said but then you are just a 24 year old kid.  My comment dealt with a poor performing bureaucracy that deals in transportation.  How that becomes Demos vs Republicans is beyond me but okay, if that's what you see then that's what you see but please, don't drive on da' same road with me son!

Rick

[KEVIN_224]

Somebody (not me) actually paid the money for this Connecticut vanity plate:

[Zeffy]

Somebody (not me) actually paid the money for this Connecticut vanity plate:

"Preserve the sound" under FAP suits that license plate well. 

[roadman]

I had vanity plates in the past, but then I realized: If I did something to piss someone off, it's way easier to remember a vanity plate than a generic tag.

Apart from the lower cost ($20 extra per year as compared to $50 extra per year for "standard" vanity plates) that's one of the principal reasons I opted to get plates with my ham call sign.  Over the years, Massachusetts has been using enough different combinations of letters and numbers on standard issue plates that my call letters don't stand out to the average driver.

[agentsteel53]

now, in general, wouldn't any state restriction of potentially offensive plate text be a violation of the 1st amendment as well?  if a state government cannot prevent you from saying offensive speech, wouldn't it be also required to furnish, on an equal opportunity basis, the plates "FUCKYOU" to someone who paid the relevant fees, as it would issue "HUNTER2" or what have you?

also, the existence of "8THEIST" in the court case implies that someone had already, successfully, taken "ATHEIST". 

[getemngo]

also, the existence of "8THEIST" in the court case implies that someone had already, successfully, taken "ATHEIST". 

From the article in the OP:

The Motor Vehicle Commission went through a similar battle last August when David Silverman, president of American Atheists and Cranford resident, attempted to get "ATHE1ST" as a license plate – with a numeral "1"  instead of the letter "I" .

Silverman was denied his license plate after it was deemed offensive by a Motor Vehicle Commission clerk, according to reports, but the decision was reversed later that month.

[1995hoo]

I had vanity plates in the past, but then I realized: If I did something to piss someone off, it's way easier to remember a vanity plate than a generic tag.

Apart from the lower cost ($20 extra per year as compared to $50 extra per year for "standard" vanity plates) that's one of the principal reasons I opted to get plates with my ham call sign.  Over the years, Massachusetts has been using enough different combinations of letters and numbers on standard issue plates that my call letters don't stand out to the average driver.

Wow, $50 is steep. Here in Virginia a personalized plate costs $10 a year, which is probably a major reason why Virginia is said to have the most personalized plates of any state. The "special license plate" designs cost more. Some of the earlier special designs have (or had) a one-time fee when you first get the plate, whereas a lot of the newer ones have an annual fee. To get a plate with a sports team or university logo is typically $25 per year (plus another $10 if you want a personalized plate), whereas on both of my cars I have the original "Jamestown" plate with the sailing ship on one side and that design cost a one-time $15 fee with half the money going to historic preservation. (That design has since been discontinued.) My wife similarly has the "Heritage–State Bird" design that has a cardinal (the state bird) sitting on a dogwood branch (the state tree) and that style has a one-time $10 fee (plus the additional $10 if you want a personalized plate). Big difference in cost compared to $25 per year!

[SteveG1988]

[roadman]

I had vanity plates in the past, but then I realized: If I did something to piss someone off, it's way easier to remember a vanity plate than a generic tag.

Apart from the lower cost ($20 extra per year as compared to $50 extra per year for "standard" vanity plates) that's one of the principal reasons I opted to get plates with my ham call sign.  Over the years, Massachusetts has been using enough different combinations of letters and numbers on standard issue plates that my call letters don't stand out to the average driver.

Wow, $50 is steep. Here in Virginia a personalized plate costs $10 a year, which is probably a major reason why Virginia is said to have the most personalized plates of any state. The "special license plate" designs cost more. Some of the earlier special designs have (or had) a one-time fee when you first get the plate, whereas a lot of the newer ones have an annual fee. To get a plate with a sports team or university logo is typically $25 per year (plus another $10 if you want a personalized plate), whereas on both of my cars I have the original "Jamestown" plate with the sailing ship on one side and that design cost a one-time $15 fee with half the money going to historic preservation. (That design has since been discontinued.) My wife similarly has the "Heritage—State Bird" design that has a cardinal (the state bird) sitting on a dogwood branch (the state tree) and that style has a one-time $10 fee (plus the additional $10 if you want a personalized plate). Big difference in cost compared to $25 per year!

Massachusetts also has specialized plates with sports team logos.  These plates are similar to standard issue, whereby you can't choose a specific plate number or get a personalized one.  IIRC, those plates are at least $60 extra a year.  The hook the Registry of Motor Vehicles uses to attract people to cough up the extra money is that a portion of the additional fee goes to support a local charity (like the Jimmy Fund for the Red Sox plate).

Personally, I've never liked the idea of a government entity acting as an agent for charitable organizations by offering special license plates.  Or, in the case of Massachusetts, soliciting donations for selected non-profit groups on one's income tax forms.

[agentsteel53]

also, the existence of "8THEIST" in the court case implies that someone had already, successfully, taken "ATHEIST". 

From the article in the OP:

The Motor Vehicle Commission went through a similar battle last August when David Silverman, president of American Atheists and Cranford resident, attempted to get "ATHE1ST" as a license plate – with a numeral "1"  instead of the letter "I" .

Silverman was denied his license plate after it was deemed offensive by a Motor Vehicle Commission clerk, according to reports, but the decision was reversed later that month.

that explains the existence of 8THEIST and ATHE1ST... so where is ATHEIST, correctly spelled?

[SSOWorld]

I seem to remember plates that said IDIOT a few years back.

In Illinois?

[vdeane]

I also spotted this guy in Connecticut:


It fits the standard sequence of CT plates so I'm assuming this is not a vanity plate. Guess the CT DMV isn't up on internet slang, either.

That guy NEEDS to go to Ontario.  It would be funny.

[SteveG1988]

In NJ personalized plates are 50 bucks one time fee for a standard base license plate. The logo plates other than one are 50 dollars one time, plus 10 a year that goes to the orginization that is on the plate. The only one that is not 10/year or 50 bucks up front is the "Agriculture" Base plate that has agricultural items on it versus a charitable orginization. That one is 20 bucks, no fee each year. Personalized of all but the agriculture is 100 dollars, 70 for the agriculture plate. Sports plates are 60 dollars up front, and 25 a year renewal. And they are non embossed plates.

[sammi]

[401-WTF]

That guy NEEDS to go to Ontario.  It would be funny.

Bonus points for rush hour.

[hbelkins]

Someone's going to have to point me to a link to explain what an alternative meaning of FAP might be that someone might find objectionable.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fap

I think I may have had that pointed out to me once before, because that looked familiar, but obviously it didn't stick with me.



Back in my single days, I had two vehicles and had vanity plates on both of them. Originally they were HB-1 and HB-2, but I eventually switched to HBE-1 and HBE-2. I gave them up after I got married because ... well, I don't know why matrimony triggered that change, but I just decided not to use them anymore. They used to cost $25 a year extra in Kentucky, even if you didn't get a new plate. The cost was probably one reason I gave them up.

One of my old vanity plates recently found a new home in New Jersey.

Kentucky offers a variety of specialty plates, the extra cost of which funds various causes. We currently have "Spay & Neuter Your Pets" plates. "Friends of Coal" plates are popular in my area of the state.

I get amused when a state offers sports team plates from rival states. It's still difficult for me to process a Tennessee-issued University of Kentucky plate, complete with the Wildcats logo.

[Molandfreak]

And it looks like someone in Alabama may have gotten around this.

[J N Winkler]

Someone's going to have to point me to a link to explain what an alternative meaning of FAP might be that someone might find objectionable.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fap

I think I may have had that pointed out to me once before, because that looked familiar, but obviously it didn't stick with me.

I thought it was Federal Aid Primary too.  We're getting old.

[SP Cook]

now, in general, wouldn't any state restriction of potentially offensive plate text be a violation of the 1st amendment as well? 

Probably not.  The 1st Admendment is not absolute, as much as some of us, including me, would like it to be.  Governments have certain powers relative to "offensive" statements.

As to the plates themselves, the 4th Circuit (which covers the Virginias, the Carolinas and Maryland) recently ruled that a "Choose Life" plate was unconstitutional.  However other states have these.  Then there is litigation all around about the SCV who generally win because they meet the state minimum for a club plate and the state cannot discriminate between groups thustly.   Then there is the case from back in the 70s where some religious nut who felt living as a slave preferable to death made New Hampshire allow him to cover "Live Free or Die".  NC also used to have "First in Freedom" which you could ask to have not be on there, which many people who did so said they were being targeted by the random taxers, and so they went to "First in Flight". 

I do know that SC, which is among the states that offer an "In God We Trust" plate, offers an "In Reason We Trust" club plate. 

The newspaper around here got the idea of asking the DMV for the whole list and called up people it though were "offensive".  Among these was "KKK" which belonged, not our since departed senior Senator and Exhaulted Kleagle, but to a girl from deep in the country who asked for her initials and had never heard of the group.

I pass a guy every day who has "NCC 1701", which is just wrong on so many levels.

[hotdogPi]

I pass a guy every day who has "NCC 1701", which is just wrong on so many levels.

Is it a random license plate?

Atari 2600