Free Republic

A federal appeals court today ruled Tennessee can sell license plates that promote "choose life," even though it doesn't offer one with an abortion rights message. A three-judge panel on the Sixth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled in the appeal of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. The group had sued over the specialty license plate approved by the Legislature in 2003 on First Amendment grounds and won a ruling against the tag from a lower court. Advertisement In a 2-to-1 ruling this morning, the court concluded the one-sidedness on a contentious political...

NEW YORK, Mar. 8 /Christian Wire Service/ -- In a stunning decision released on March 7th, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s second attempt to ban the phrase "Choose Life" from a pro-adoption specialty plate in New York State. The Attorney General’s first defeat occurred in January, 2005, when a federal judge ruled that The Children First Foundation (CFF) had sufficiently alleged constitutional violations involving freedom of speech and equal protection under the law. The August 2005 trial date was postponed when the state appealed the federal court ruling to the Second Circuit Court of...

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2006 Power of Parrotheads put to the test BY BO PETERSEN AND CHRIS DIXON The Post and Courier After a big Kosher pickle and a cold draft beer, which way do Parrotheads steer? The Columbia chapter of an international Jimmy Buffett fan club hopes it'll be toward the DMV. The club wants the S.C. General Assembly to create a "Parrothead" specialty license plate for motor vehicles, with $10 of the cost of each $34 plate going to the Palmetto Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association or the Upstate South Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The plate was...

Lawmakers Aim To Address Drunken Driving POSTED: 10:24 am PST February 22, 2006 ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Debate under way in Annapolis focused Tuesday on nearly two-dozen bills drafted to address drunken driving. Baltimore television station WBAL reported that one bill would have convicted drunken drivers wear a Scarlet Letter of sorts. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, 45 percent of Maryland's traffic fatalities are related to alcohol. The House Judiciary Committee heard about 18 driving under the influence bills Tuesday, but none as controversial as the so-called Scarlet Letter approach. Montgomery County Delegate Herman Taylor, D-District 14, introduced...

clear spray that distorts a license plate image — and helps drivers beat tickets for running a red light — is selling like hotcakes, despite a law banning its use. PhotoBlocker is being sold in eight New York-area stores and is getting "more popular every day," according to dealer John Ciampa. "Usually, I sell at least eight to 10 cans a day," he said. "The seven stores sell two or three a day. Then there's the Internet and the phone." When sprayed on a license plate, PhotoBlocker reflects the flash of a traffic-light camera, blurring the plate in a photo...

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A legislative committee in Indiana has approved a bill that would create a special license plate that bears the motto "In God We Trust." "What I want is exactly what it says on the dollar bill," Republican state Rep. Woody Burton told the Indianapolis Star. "Nothing more." Indiana already has 53 specialty license plates. Most cost more than standard-issue plates with some of the cash funneled to non-profit organizations. A House committee approved the bill 7-1 Thursday, but similar legislation has stalled in the state senate in the past. Burton said if the measure does...

The state of New York is attempting to stifle a lawsuit seeking to make “Choose Life” license plates available. Although the lawsuit cites the free speech protection of the first amendment, New York Assistant Solicitor General Jennifer Grace Miller told the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that the statement “Choose Life” could lead to road rage. Judge Dennis Jacobs agreed, suggesting that allowing the phrase could open the door to messages from extremist groups. “If you win, then white supremacist organizations and the Ku Klux Klan can have license plates,” said Judge Jacobs. “There'd be a lot of road rage...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty displayed a bagfull of initiatives designed to help Minnesota veterans and military families on Monday, the most visible of which is a new “Support Our Troops” license plate that is available immediately. The plates, featuring a bald eagle against an American flag backdrop, can be purchased for $18.50, plus a minimum $30 annual contribution. The plates, which were approved by the Legislature and governor, went on sale Monday at license renewal stations around the state for cars, trucks and recreational vehicles. Motorcycle owners have to wait until spring. Pawlenty, who visited Minnesota National Guard troops training in...

A federal judge has rejected the latest bid by a West Rutland man to get a vanity plate with a biblical message. U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha agreed with an earlier ruling by a federal magistrate denying Shawn Byrne's request for an injunction against the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The injunction would have allowed Byrne to get his vanity license plate with "JN36TN."

A controversial plan to embed radio frequency identification chips in license plates in the United Kingdom also may be coming to the United States, experts told UPI's Wireless World. The so-called e-Plate, developed by the British firm Hills Numberplates, is a license plate that also transmits a vehicle's unique identification via encryption that can be read by a small detector, whose output can be used locally or communicated to a distant host. "RFID is all the rage these days," said Bradley Gross, chairman of Becker & Poliakoff, a law firm in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., "but my fear is that this...

Judge Says JOHN316 Plate Violates Guidelines POSTED: 11:43 am EDT August 11, 2005 RUTLAND, Vt. -- A federal magistrate has recommended against issuing a vanity license plate with a religious theme to a Vermont man, at least for now. But the magistrate also denied the state's bid to have the case dismissed. Shawn Byrne sued in January after his bid for a license plate with "JOHN316" was turned down by the state, which contended it conveyed a religious message. The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles also has refused to issue him a vanity plate that says "JN36TN." Vermont regulations state...

In an unusual gay rights case, a judge said Utah can't keep a woman from using her license plate to tell the world "GAYSROK."

Cheerleader Chant Leads To Driver Involved In Crash Police Trace License Plate To Ann Arbor Man POSTED: 3:46 pm EDT August 5, 2005 A team of cheerleaders attending a camp in Ann Arbor did what came naturally after witnessing a crash on Wednesday afternoon. The Lincoln High School varsity cheerleading squad turned a license plate number into a cheer when a man driving a pickup truck involved in the collision fled the scene, according to the Ann Arbor News. "We just started to chant it so we'd remember it and help them get the guy," senior captain Kimmie Ostrowski told...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The state of Utah can't block a woman from using her license plate to tell the world "GAYSROK," a judge has ruled. The state has no good reason to prevent Elizabeth Solomon from having that plate - which can be read "Gays are OK" or "Gays Rock" - or another one saying "GAYRYTS," according to Jane Phan, an administrative law judge with the Utah State Tax Commission. "The narrow issue before us is whether a reasonable person would believe the terms 'gays are OK' and 'gay rights' are, themselves, offensive to good taste and decency....

The US state of Kentucky is set to withdraw the design of the state's smiling sunshine face from its licence plates because it is so unpopular. Perched beneath the line "It's that friendly" on the plates, the smiling sun has met ridicule and scorn. Drivers have been drawing moustaches on the face, or transforming the smile into a scowl in protest. The new design features an outline of the state of Kentucky in the centre and the words "Unbridled spirit". "A lot of people found them so obnoxious they wouldn't put them on their cars," county official Don Blevins told...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- It would be sort of a scarlet letter for drunken drivers. SURVEY Should drunken drivers get special license plates? Yes, they all should. Yes, but only repeat offenders. No, they should not. Results | Disclaimer Lawmakers in New York State are considering special license plates for repeat DWI offenders. The specific letters or numbers on the plates haven't been decided. The bill's sponsors said the DWI plates would help police and would allow them to stop the car without further cause. Critics said the special DWI plates would carry a stigma. But supporters counter that's the whole...

Remember the story about the moonbat with the F DUBYA California plate last fall? Well there's another one. This time in Washington state.This time, the moonbat in question drove around for four months until a bureaucrat forced him to get a different plate.He's decided to put it up for sale on eBay.This is an original license plate accidentally issued by the State of Washington.I had this plate on my car for 4 months before receiving a letter from the DOL informing me that they determined my plate to be "Offensive to good taste and decency."This is a used plate but...

Wednesday, May 18, 2005 Driver allowed to keep Christian vanity plate SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES OLYMPIA -- Vanity may be a sin, but a Christian message on vanity license plates is OK with the state of Washington. The Department of Licensing yesterday dismissed a complaint against a vanity plate imprinted with "JOHN316."

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...

A Tacoma woman says she feels violated by a complaint about her vanity plate. It simply reads: "John 3-16" But someone found the Bible verse offensive and now the state is deciding whether she can keep the plate. "The verse in the Bible says 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,' " says Jane Milhans. To her, John 3:16 is a message of love, and a great vanity plate. But now, someone has told the state Jane's plate is offensive. "My first reaction was I was in shock," she said. Jane says she's had...