GAYSROK in Utah
by TChris
States that offer personalized license plates often want to control the message that plate buyers can convey. There's little doubt that states can prevent the issuance of plates that use offensive words (of the George Carlin variety), but it's less clear that states can censor political messages that state bureaucrats find offensive.
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 judge ruled that a reasonable person wouldn't find the plates "offensive to good taste and decency," not that motorists have a First Amendment right to convey political messages. But state censorship of political messages raises First Amendment concerns, a fact not recognized by Barry Conover, deputy director of the commission, which oversees Utah's Department of Motor Vehicles:
"It kind of opens up the door for all types of people who want to make a license plate a public forum, for every initiative," he said.
Actually, it's Utah that made license plates a public forum by offering a personalized plate option. If Utah doesn't like that policy choice, it should forego the extra revenue it generates by selling personalized plates. Otherwise, it should live with the fact that people in a free country have the right to convey political messages, even if bureaucrats disagree with a motorist's political views.
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