Posted on 05/18/2005 9:15:50 AM PDT by goodnesswins
State says ‘JOHN3:16’ plate’s OK
STEVE MAYNARD; The News Tribune Last updated: May 18th, 2005 07:42 AM
BRUCE KELLMAN/THE NEWS TRIBUNE FILE
University Place resident Jane Milhans gets to keep the JOHN3:16 vanity license plate she’s had on her cars since 1984. A complainant unsuccessfully urged the state to revoke the plate because of its religious meaning.
After a public outcry, University Place resident Jane Milhans will be able to keep her vanity license plate “JOHN3:16.” A Spanaway woman complained she was offended by the plate, prompting a state review. After callers in support of Milhans inundated radio talk shows and the Department of Licensing, a review committee expedited her case and dismissed the complaint Tuesday.
“They did?” Milhans said Tuesday. “Wow. That’s incredible. … I would have been devastated to lose this plate.”
The Department of Licensing’s review committee met early because of the intense public interest, said department spokesman Brad Benfield.
“The plate is not offensive under our rules and was never in danger of being canceled,” licensing director Liz Luce said in a statement. “This was just a routine, procedural review required by policy.”
However, Benfield said the licensing department has now changed its policy so that a single complaint no longer triggers an automatic review by a committee.
Milhans has had the vanity plate for 21 years.
Two weeks ago, Milhans was shocked to read in a letter the Department of Licensing was reviewing her plate because of a complaint. No one had ever complained before, she said.
“The Scripture actually references love,” Milhans said. “I thought that would be a positive message and brighten someone’s day.”
In her e-mail complaint to the licensing department, the Spanaway woman wrote, “I was offended that I have to be prayed over by a license plate.”
“What happened to keeping church and state separate?” said the woman, who refused to comment for this story. She requested her name not be used because the state mistakenly told her the complaint would be confidential, and then retracted that statement.
John 3:16, one of the most famous verses in the Bible, reads: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Milhans, 47, has the plate on her metallic blue BMW 525i. It’s her third car since 1984 to have a plate with “JOHN3:16.” Her seven-digit vanity plate originally read “JOHN316.” She painted on a blue colon to make the verse reference understandable.
Milhans works as a vice president for U.S. Bank in Tacoma and is the former Pierce County Republican Party chairwoman. She originally had until May 29 to respond to the complaint. Milhans said she was relieved by the decision, but disappointed she didn’t get to make her case.
A committee of a half-dozen people – from the Department of Licensing, the Washington State Patrol and a county auditor’s office – reviewed the complaint over the phone Tuesday.
They used guidelines barring vanity plates that are “offensive to good taste and decency,” “blasphemous,” “vulgar, profane or sexually suggestive in nature,” or “a racial, ethnic, lifestyle or gender slur.” The guidelines don’t mention religion. The issue of separation of church and state would be a matter for courts to decide, Benfield said.
In Vermont, Shawn Byrne of Rutland is suing the state after it rejected his bid for a “JOHN316” vanity plate. State attorneys say the plate would amount to a state endorsement of religion, The Associated Press reported.
Vanity plate owners in Washington pay an additional $30 a year to the Department of Licensing. The money goes to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Motor Vehicle Fund.
In the past year and a half, complaints prompted reviews of 16 vanity plates out of 84,454 in the state, Benfield said. Four containing at least one initial for a sexual term were canceled, he said.
Milhans said she believes freedom of speech gives her the right to express her Christian beliefs with her license plate. After news of the complaint became fodder for radio talk shows, dozens of people phoned, e-mailed and stopped her in stores and on the street to say they’re on her side. Hundreds of people called the licensing department in support of Milhans, Benfield said.
“I’m not offending people now,” Milhans said. “I’m really happy about that.”
FIVE PLATES THAT COULDN’T BE KILLED
Here are some other vanity license plates that the Department of Licensing permitted to remain after complaints:
UDORK: A complainant said it was rude.
BCHRWFE: Someone complained it was about spousal abuse. The plate turned out to belong to a butcher’s wife.
AMXTC: Someone thought it was a reference to the drug Ecstasy. The plate referred to the joy of owning a classic car called an AMX.
STROKIN: A complainant thought the message was sexual, but the plate referred to a Ford Power Stroke diesel truck.
SEXTY7: Someone thought the plate was racy, but it was allowed because it was used on a classic 1967 car.
Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647 steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
Betting AQ-RULES wouldn't turn a head.
Some good has come from this.
My how large of them, what will they ALLOW next, Sunday morning Church bells?
I wonder if the ACLU will go after this lady.
Sounds like a "free" society...what happened. Wash. is too close to Canada that now is "allowing" FoxNews Channel.
Is that legal in Washington?
Here in Florida some sheriff deputies would stop you for covering meaningless parts of the license plates.
Now, is anyone able to interpret this one?
NRTTTT
It is one of my all time favorites.
(p.s. I KNOW what it means.)
That's not too old. ;o)
Excellent. Sometimes....sometimes, the bureaucratic process works.
I hope this busybody wench who complained now gets arrested when she takes the law into her own hands and attempts to deface the license plate. And you know she will. This is how the Liberal wankers think. It's part of their creed.
If you can't win, change the rules. If that fails, cheat.
I can't use it anymore. : (
Still not too old! :o) Plus, as they say, it beats the alternative. ;o)
Jane has had her car(s) keyed......over this plate? probably, but who can know....
I know what you mean. I need a plate that says RD RAGE. I had to stop listening to Metallica, Motorhead, etc. in rush hour, because it aided my aggressiveness. Now I listen to talk radio and get all fired up at the liberal lunacy. I think I need Road Rage Anonymous.
I'm offended that someone as utterly stupid and ignorant as you are is considered a member of the same species as I am but what can I do? I bet you're ugly too.
Why should the 'godless' tell everyone else how to live anyway?
Now is the time for all those of faith to stand up, and kick these heathenous bastards to the curb.
Every time I see John 3:16 I am reminded of the wig guy at NFL games who sits in the endzone with his sign. A freind of mine has this dream of sitting behind him and finding out what church he attends. He would then go to that church, sit in the from pew, and as soon as the preacher began he would hold up his Seattle Seahawks sign.
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