Posted on 05/19/2006 11:49:28 AM PDT by blitzgig
Suppose, to be supposing, that you live and own a car in Memphis or Nashville or Chattanooga. Suppose, further, that you believe passionately in a pregnant woman's right to an abortion.
Suppose, once more, that the state of Tennessee issues specialty automobile license plates bearing the anti-abortion legend "Choose Life." Suppose, finally, that Tennessee legislators refuse to issue licenses that say, as an alternative, "Pro-Choice."
Put these hypotheticals all together, and you have American Civil Liberties Union v. Philip Bredesen, Governor . The case is now pending in the U.S. Supreme Court on a petition for appeal from the 6th Circuit. The high court probably will take the case for argument next year. Some important issues of free speech, states' rights and equal rights are at stake, and federal courts are sharply divided on the answers.
There was a time when automobile license plates were models of simplicity. In plain black-and-white, they provided a state name and a license number. Then it occurred to a few astute highway commissioners that there was advertising gold in those tin plates. New Hampshire figured in a major Supreme Court case that turned on its state motto, "Live Free or Die." Now every state offers specialty license plates. Maryland issues 600 of them.
Over the years, Tennessee's legislature has authorized roughly 150 specialty plates, including plates to honor Boy Scouts, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and even the smallmouth bass. Any reasonably reputable organization that can find a legislative sponsor and round up a thousand pledged purchasers may apply. Typically, the state collects an additional $35 per plate for the privilege.
In the case at hand, an anti-abortion organization, New Life Resources, met the statutory requirements. It also had the political clout. As a natural consequence, in 2003 Tennessee adopted a law authorizing the sale of "Choose Life" plates and directing how the proceeds should be spent. New Life would control half of the net proceeds. The other half would go to the Tennessee Art Commission (40 percent) and the state highway fund (10 percent). On the other side, members of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee lobbied hard for a "Pro-Choice" alternative plate. They had a thousand prospective buyers in line, but they lacked a majority in the Tennessee legislature. Their bill twice failed. Then the ACLU went to court on their behalf. Pro-Choice won in U.S. District Court but lost 2-1 before a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit. From that defeat, the ACLU now seeks Supreme Court review.
Circuit Judge John M. Rogers, joined by Judge David M. Nelson, conceded that Tennessee's exercise of "government one-sidedness" may be ill-advised. Even so, there is no constitutional principle that prohibits the state from expressing public policy and using private volunteers to disseminate its message. No automobile owner is compelled to buy a "Choose Life" plate and attach it to his car.
Judge Boyce F. Martin Jr. strongly dissented. In his view, Tennessee's one-sidedness amounts to "unconstitutional discrimination on the basis of viewpoint." The constitutional question, as he sees it, is whether the state, having created a forum for the public expression of ideas, may suppress a disfavored idea.
"The First Amendment harm in this case has nothing to do with being forced to speak or to subsidize a message. Rather, the harm is being denied the opportunity to speak on the same terms as other private citizens within a government-sponsored forum. ... We cannot view each of (the 150 specialty plates) in isolation. I suggest that when opening one's eyes to the license plate program as a whole, it is evident that the government has created a program to encourage a diversity of views and messages from private speakers. ... The Constitution requires viewpoint neutrality."
Is that so? I'm not so sure. If a state sells a "Go Democrats!" license plate, must it offer a Republican plate on the same terms? Such concepts as "fair play" and "equal opportunity" are attractive ideas. Everyone speaks well of them. The Constitution guarantees equal protection of the law. But a free society also is fueled by the infinite inequalities that go with the nature of mankind. To the victor belong some spoils.
Nothing prevents the pro-choice folks at Planned Parenthood from selling their own bumper stickers -- and they could keep all the profits.
Choose Death would be more accurate!
Wow! I'd like to have something intelligent to say about the legality of this issue, as it raises some very interesting questions, but...
All I can think of, is how these Pro-abortion people are going to react when they are finally convicted and can no longer avoid the personal knowlege that they went out and looked for ways to further the cause of murder, to increase the number of people murdered in their country. (All of the members of Planned Parenthood, the 1000 committed to buying a pro-abortion plate, the ACLU lawyers, etc. etc. There are so many many people who are passionately committed to the slaughter of innocents!)
You guys were WAY ahead of me.
You gotta have that political juice when you're getting specialty plates approved. Here in Nevada, someone proposed a specialty plate that honored the Test Site workers. Everyone in my family was excited about it because my father-in-law worked on the Site back when they were doing above ground tests. Alas, some do-gooders squashed it because they claimed it was a "sad period of Nevada history" and the State caved, of course. Too bad; the plate would have had a mushroom cloud on it (how cool is that!).
Whatever happened to bumper stickers?
How about one that says " Dead Fetuses Make Me Smile" or Choose Slaughter"
They might as well be honest.
Now the question remains the Choose Life plates usually raise money that got to agencies that support adoption, pregnancy support centers and other causes that help an unwed mother and father. This has a verifiable public good.
Where would money raised through a Pro Baby Slaughter plate go? And could abortion be shown to be a public good which deserves the support of money collected by a Government Agency?
I doubt many people would rush out to buy the 'pro-choice' tags, since that would definitely mark them as baby killers. Pro-Choice means Pro-Abort, there is no other definition.
Of course, even better would be to dump the annoying concept of vanity plates entirely, but it's easy money for the state that doesn't involve increasing my taxes, so I can't say I'm totally opposed to them.
Love to see someone come up with a plate that says simply "Sovereign American"
That'd go over real good.
NOT!!
"If there's 1000 people out there stupid enough to want to put "I *heart* NAMBLA" on their plates..."
Possible NAMBLA bumper stickers:
"Several babies on board"
"My lover is an honor student at ******* Middle School."
"Not enough babies on board"
"Rape charges happen"
"Don't pay any attention to the kid in back screaming for help."
Or simply "I Killed My Baby"
"how these Pro-abortion people are going to react when they are finally convicted"
Convicted of what? Their support may be distasteful to you, but it's not a crime.
I don't know why any plates have to say anything. When I'm driving with other cars on the road, I don't care anything about them besides that we keep our cars from connecting. I don't care if they have a baby on board, are organic gardeners, think God must be a Penn State fan because the sky is blue and white, or choose life. Just drive.
conficted in a different sense of the word, from the way you are thinking--well a slightly different connotation.
such as definition number three in my desk dictionary-"...proved or declared guilty of an offense"
A thing does not have to be declared to be illegal by the laws of men for it to be wrong (nor for a person to be quilty of it).
There will come a day when they will be convicted and will not be able to rationalize it to themselves or anyone else. Like it or not, believe in it or not, it will happen at judgement.
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