South Carolina has dealt with controversial plate issues before and resolved them to everyone's satisfaction.
Secular Humanists Plate
Can you imagine that even this plate was considered controversial when it first appeared?
Posted on 01/27/2005 7:58:49 AM PST by NativeTexun
High Court Defers on 'Choose Life' Plates
By HOPE YEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court declined Monday to consider whether states may offer license plates with anti-abortion messages, leaving lower courts divided over whether the programs in a dozen states unconstitutionally restrict dissenting views.
Without comment, justices let stand a lower court ruling that said South Carolina's license plates, which bear the slogan "Choose Life," violate the First Amendment because abortion rights supporters weren't given a similar forum to express their beliefs.
The high court's move means that South Carolina will either have to eliminate the specialty plates or begin offering plates with abortion-rights views. That ruling is at odds, however, with a prior decision by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which essentially allowed the plates because it said abortion rights advocates didn't have standing to bring a lawsuit in the case.
Abortion rights advocates cheered the Supreme Court's move Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
This is just plain dumb. If people are paying for their tags, why can't they have what they want? These abortionists are nuts.
And how is the First Amendment violated because the state doesn't adopt every message for license plates? By this logic, all the plates that say things like "Virginia is for Lovers" or "Protect Wildlife" or "Battleship New Jersey" violate free speech. What about all the people who hate Virginia or espouse abstinence, the people who favor development over environmental concerns, and the people who hate the military or just the navy maybe because they were in the army?
Considering my Texas plate, "Animal Friendly" (with dog and cat sitting side by side) I'm wondering if the staunch cat haters are offended???
Who knew!
I totally agree.
I'm hoping they declined because they rightly considered this a state issue.
They can, usually. This isn't vanity plates, but plates with the slogan on the plate itself, not in the tag number.
This is a strange situation for me, because I actually think Planned Parenthood is right. The state has no business officially supporting one side of a controversial issue.
I don't see how the state could be seen supporting either position but even so, I certainly don't think the state should support killing babies. But, that being said, everyone can still (I think) put a bumper sticker on their vehicles.
That's what I think. If it's controversial, just stay out of it.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...
What was once seen as a self-evident truth is now a controversy.
South Carolina has dealt with controversial plate issues before and resolved them to everyone's satisfaction.
Secular Humanists Plate
Can you imagine that even this plate was considered controversial when it first appeared?
It's amazing what people will get upset about. But you have a good idea, do it both ways or not at all. IIRC, this whole problem was because the state only wanted to do it one way.
No, unfortunately what they declined to review was a decision by the federal appellate court. By not reviewing they let the federal court's decision stand.
Damn! Who in that federal court decided they had jurisdiction?
The US Supreme Court, a long time ago. The Constitution trumps state law and the Bill Of Rights applies to all states. The problem is the ruling that the license plate somehow violated free speech and the state should be forced to offer a pro choice plate.
It should have been decided once and for all in state courts.
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