Vermont Man Persists, Wants Scripture Reference on Vanity Plate
by Allie Martin
May 19, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Vermont man continues to fight the state over its refusal to allow him to place a Bible verse on his license plate.In April 2004, Rutland, Vermont, resident Shawn Byrne submitted an application for a vanity plate inscribed with "John316." Alternatives he found acceptable were "JN316" and "JN36TN." By his own admission on the application, Byrne explained that his requests referred to Bible passages.
Officials denied his application, claiming the message he requested "refers to deity," and that since license plates are state property any religious message on them could be viewed as government endorsement of religion. With assistance from the Alliance Defense Fund, Byrne sued the state.
ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco says the rejection of the plates is a violation of Byrne's constitutional rights.
"Lots of states view license plates as state property, and in actuality they are. [Consequently] many states have laws on their books prohibiting offensive language or prohibiting certain categories of language," the attorney acknowledges. "But the reality is, we all know when we drive around the streets and we see these vanity plates that the message that appears on them is not a message chosen by the state, but [one] chosen by the person behind the wheel."
Under Vermont law, the Department of Motor Vehicles is allowed to reject a word or phrase considered offensive or confusing to the general public. More specifically, the regulations state that license plates are not to be allowed to have a combination of letters or numbers that refer to any language to race, religion, color, deity, ethnic heritage, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or political affiliation.
Tedesco says those regulations are "quite incredible, constitutionally preposterous."
"[They] say that no offensive language can be on license plates; then they define 'offensive' as things like obscenity and pornography and profanity," he explains. "Incredibly, [they] throw religious speech into that category of offensiveness as well -- and that's simply unconstitutional."
Attorneys for the state have asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit. But Tedesco has asked for a preliminary injunction in the case that would allow Byrne to get the plates. A ruling is expected later this summer.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
