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May 13, 2005

The Church, The State, and the License Plate

Jane Milhans of Tacoma was surprised to find out that an anonymous woman filed a complaint about her BMW's personalized license plate JOHN316. KOMO-TV reports here.

The anonymous woman wrote to the state saying "I was offended that I have to be 'prayed over' by a license plate... What happened to keeping church and state separate?"

Yes, indeed. The intent of "separation" is to allow all people the freedom to practice whatever religion they wish, freely, without interference from the state. It is, however, not intended to keep oversensitive "progressives" from being offended by other people's beliefs. "What happened to keeping church and state separate?" she asks, while asking the STATE to step in and revoke a religious vanity plate.

True, a license plate is issued by the state. For the most part, these plates feature letter/number combinations that are chosen by the state. An example from Washington state would be 123-ABC. But a personalized plate is different. It is selected by the individual driver. The state plays no part in the message selected, and does not prohibit plates provided that they are not blatantly offensive.

In fact, the state goes out of it's way not to offend people with it's license plate combinations. You won't see 123-GOD or 123-SEX. Various letter combinations are banned, so that vehicle owners need not be offended.

Since JOHN316 was selected by an individual, the state is not responsible for the message it sends. But surely the fact that the state ISSUES the plate to the driver is cause for concern, no? The state shouldn't allow one to license their car if that license contains a religious message.

Then what of other state licenses? If I license a business, and call it "John 3:16 Fast Lube and Brake Service", should the state revoke my license on the grounds that someone might be offended? In both cases, I am forced to obtain a license from the state. In both cases I select a religious theme for my license. What's the difference?

There is none.

Posted by March at May 13, 2005 06:11 PM

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Tracked on June 20, 2005 08:56 PM