Thread about it here.
Posted on 05/16/2005 6:12:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
'I Will Defend To Keep It Based On Free Speech'
TACOMA - 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 the plate for 21 years without a single complaint.
"It's not profane, it's not bigotry, it's not hatred, it's not evil," she says.
But Brad Benfield with the State Department of Licensing said, "It appears from the complaint that somebody was not happy that a state issued license plate had a religious component."
A Pierce County woman made the complaint, which reads in part: "I was offended that I have to be 'prayed over' by a license plate... What happened to keeping church and state separate?"
We tracked down the woman who lodged the complaint, and she declined an on-camera interview. She says frankly, she's dismayed the state didn't keep her complaint anonymous.
"A lot of people view this as a waste tax dollars to go through this process," Milhans said.
Now Jane says she'll have to defend her plate in front of a review committee, who will decide if she can keep it.
Benfield admits just one complaint can trigger a review.
"We're always interested in finding out if one slipped through the cracks," he said.
They caught one last year. "GOT MILF" was thought to be a play on the milk commercials. It turned out to be a sexual reference to good looking moms.
The state cancelled the plate.
But Jane Milhans vows they won't cancel hers.
"I will defend to keep it based on free speech," she said.
She says she'll fight to spread her message of love.
Last year, the state handled complaints about 16 vanity plates. They canceled four of them.
We should find out next month if Jane can keep hers.
The state needs to tell 'someone'..."No it isn't".
A lot of states and school administrators need to start saying this when they are confronted by an individual who claims that something is 'offensive'. This crap is getting out of hand.
Money being wasted by the gov't - it could have been used to feed the homeless! If it saves only one child, it would have been worth it.
/sarc
Amendment VI of the US Constitution reads:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Being able to confront those who make complaints against you is a fundamental part of our judicial system and an important one. Once you allow anonymous complaints to be the basis of government action against citizens, you open the door for all sorts of abuses.
i thought that was a statue representing the local fisherman, not Lenin.
Heck I will have to see if that is taken here.
"The complainer needs to get her head out of her @ss" Paul MJ-12
I love your tagline!
(Does that koran come in two-ply?)
Great plate.
It's only right that she gets to keep it.
This isn't a criminal prosecution.
People should have the right to know who their accuser is.
The complaintant must know the New Testament by heart. Either that or they had to go LOOK IT UP to see if they could complain about it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.