Man told he must get rid of "ATHEIST" license plate

Ananova ^

[KneelBeforeZod]

its not relevant yet...but I just want to be the first to say what Sean Hannity loves to say... "show me where in the constitution it says 'seperation of church and state'"

[summer]

Thanks for the flag. Interesting article.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Christian vandalizing is something that should be predicted?

Yes. It's not uncommon. (Nor are other types of vandalism; vandalism for its own sake is probably the most common.)

[jwalsh07]

I actually believ what the first amendment says. He should be able to keep his plate and I should be able to get a plate in CT that says Pro Life. That I can't has no bearing on him keeping his.

[steve-b]

certain statements could increase the odds of your vehicle being the target of vandalism

"Christianity is a religion of peace."

[uglybiker]

NAWWWW! Say it ain't so!

[riley1992]

We must remember, I suppose, that the idea of a plate is for identification purposes.

What has that got to do with the price of fish? Regardless if the plate reads 'Athiest' or '775 JLP', he will still be identifiable by it to the state.

[another1]

Grow up, little girl.

[Kerberos]

"Sorry sir, you don't believe in God-given rights"

No, I think he believes in Constitutional rights.

[Pharmboy]

This is a disgrace. This man should be allowed to express his beliefs (that is, as long as Born Agains, Orthodox Jews, etc., can express their beliefs on their license plates).

[Kerberos]

"I should be able to get a plate in CT that says Pro Life. That I can't has no bearing on him keeping his."

Say what? CT won't let you have a plate that says Pro Life. Is it because someone else already has it? If not, I see a problem with that also.

[thulldud]

Now, there's an idea. If he spelled it "Athiest", do you think it would pass?

(It's not every day you can get a spelling zinger in there and have it be right on topic!)

[southernnorthcarolina]

This subject was the lead topic on one of the talk radio station in Charlotte during afternoon drive-time. As you can imagine, here at the buckle of the Bible Belt (home of Billy Graham, and, for many years, Jim and Tammy Bakker), quite a few callers agreed with the prohibition of the "ATHEIST" license plate.

The conversation drifted over to vanity license plates in general. I recall that in 1980, an elderly couple (I think in Florida) had a license plate which said "IRAN", which, needless to say, didn't make them popular during the hostage crisis. The thing is, it was totally innocent on their part: his name was Ira, and hers was Ann, hence "IRAN" on the plate, which they had for several years prior to the hostage crisis. After the crisis broke, they had to hide their car in their garage until the new plates which they had hastily ordered arrived.

I have a friend with a vanity plate consisting of ones, I's, zeroes, and O's. Something like "1I0O0I01", the theory being that if she ever gets a ticket, there's a fair chance the police officer won't get the license number quite right, and she'll escape on a technicality. I rather admire that line of reasoning.

[mc5cents]

Sorry sir, you don't believe in God-given rights.

What he believes is not the point. Get it? It's called the constitution of the United States and contained therein is the First Amendment. I don't believe in atheism but I believe in his God given right to believe and express his belief in it. That is what is important here.

I can't believe I am saying this but, I think the ACLU would be correct in taking this case.

[timm22]

How is it correct for a business to penalize you for your religious beliefs?

If your religious beliefs (or more applicable to this situation, your openly declared lack of religious beliefs) will end up raising the costs of a business, it is completely appropriate for them to charge you more than other people.

I wonder if any athiest Freepers can help me out here. What would possess someone to get an "ATHIEST" license plate in the first place? I don't believe in the Islamic religion, but I don't think I would ever put "INFIDEL" on my license plate, especially if I lived in an Islamic area. Evidence from this article shows what the costs are. But what are the benefits? Taking pride in showing everyone what you don't believe in?

[goldstategop]

I don't find it objectionable. I wonder though if FL would ban a license plate that said "JESUS IS LOVE."

[timm22]

Oops, please substitute "ATHEIST" for "ATHIEST" in my last post (and ignore any other spelling, punctuation, or grammer errors in my previous post or this one).

[cactmh]

Wow, right here in my back yard...I can assure you all that he is one of many weirdos around here.