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

Ananova ^

[JediGirl]

A US man must get rid of his number plate because it reads, "ATHEIST."

Steven Miles says his right of self expression is being trampled on.

But the state of Florida has declared the number plate "obscene or objectionable." It is refusing to re-issue it after receiving 10 complaints.

Mr Miles, 55, from Gainesville, Florida, has had the licence plate for 16 years. He is vice president of the group, Atheists of Florida.

But he has now been told by the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, that the personalised plate is on the department's blacklist, along with swear words and slang words describing certain body parts.

Mr Miles said: "It's kind of disconcerting to know that the United States is based on freedom of expression, yet in actuality, it's quite restrictive."

Others have reacted strongly to the plate since Mr Miles first screwed it to his Isuzu in 1986, reports the St Petersburg Times.

"I had a wrench thrown at me in Jacksonville about 10 years ago. It went right over the hood," he said. Another time, "someone surreptitiously tore up my tag and threw it in the bushes. I put a frame and a plastic cover on it after that."

He intends to fight the banning order with the backing of the US Civil Liberties Union.

Story filed: 22:11 Thursday 14th March 2002

[JediGirl]

Gotta love freedom of speech...

[jonatron]

Mr Miles said: "It's kind of disconcerting to know that the United States is based on freedom of expression, yet in actuality, it's quite restrictive."

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

[steenkeenbadges]

Well at least he's clear on his position. Jesus upbraided the church at Laodecia: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Rev 3:16

Seems like the guy's itching to be evangelized!

[billybudd]

So you wouldn't mind banning someone from having a "THEIST" license plate?

[JediGirl]

Wow, What a freedom-loving guy. Anybody with an opinion that differs from yours should be crushed right?

Buddhists should be kicked out of the country because they don't believe in our "God-given" rights? That kinda thing?

[riley1992]

Pardon me? Are you saying that anyone who does not believe in God should not be granted the same rights as those who do?

[diefree]

can the following words be put on license plates; God, Baptist, Catholic, Jesus, Christian, Muslim, Wiccan, homosexual, abortionist, homophobe, etc.?

[Free the USA]

Check the Bump List folders for articles related to and descriptions of the above topic(s) or for other topics of interest.

[Zeroisanumber]

I think that he was referring to fence-sitters. Athiests are not sitting on a fence, they have taken a position.

[JediGirl]

It would appear that way

[Demidog]

Please show me where in the constitution that only those that believe in God have rights.

[Centurion2000]

I may not agree with the guy but that is not something too controversial for a license plate.

[riley1992]

Yes, it would. Apparently Freedom of Speech is only supposed to be free to those he deems worthy.

[Husker24]

agreed

[Eala]

Mr Miles said: "It's kind of disconcerting to know that the United States is based on freedom of expression, yet in actuality, it's quite restrictive."

Sure is. Try practicing your freedom of speech in certain public areas, you'll find out how restrictive it already is. Like outside an abortion clinic.

Nonetheless, IMHO he ought to be able to have the plate.

[leilani]

"So you wouldn't mind banning someone from having a "THEIST" license plate?" EXACTLY. This is as wrong as if they banned a "Catholic" plate or "Baptist" plate or "Left-handed Lithuanian Luddite" plate. WRONG, BOZOS! (Is the First Amendment really THAT difficult for low-rank gov't employees to understand?)

[riley1992]

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

[jlogajan]

Now if I was his insurance company, I would raise his premium for comprehensive coverage above the roof.

I agree, after all, Christianity is a religion of peace. ha ha ha ha ha ha

[eddie willers]

but it seems to me that insurance companies would be interested in what your personalized plate is since certain statements could increase the odds of your vehicle being the target of vandalism.

Christian vandalizing is something that should be predicted?

[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.

[cactmh]

I'm not a Christian, but I don't believe in Atheists either.

[cactmh]

It is a peaceful religion. Comparing the vandalism of a licsense plate to the murder of innocent women in children is simply foolish.

[riley1992]

ROTFL. You will never know how bad you actually got me with that.

[riley1992]

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.

They should be able to show proof of this first then. In other words, it is concretely documented that certain cars are more prone to theft, therefore, the premium on them is going to be higher. The insurance company would be making a baseless assumption based on what for raising the premium for the Atheist plate?

[Pappy Smear]

Yeah, I imagine Florida would ban a JESUS IS LOVE license plate cause it has more than eight letters.

Iowa did not ban my AUH2O64 plate tho.

[baxter999]

Actually, the constitution does not grant any rights. It enumerates a few rights but the source of these rights is God according to the Declaration of Independence.

I don't think that there is an easy pat answer to this license plate thing. Would a license plate that says "Jew-hater", "God H8s fags" or some other non-profane but objectionable phrase also be acceptable? And just because some people are offended, does that mean that a certain plate should be banned? I think some would be offended no matter what was on the plate.

Then there is always the legal argument that license plates are created and controlled by the government and they can do what they want. For example, most states limit the number of letters on a plate as well as words that might be construed to be official - like NYPD, etc.

I can see both sides of this argument and I'm having a tough time deciding what is "right".

Maybe I just don't get why it matters either way.

[Bob J]

Radio Free Republic Presents

The Banana Republican Hour

With your host Luis Gonzalez

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---

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Tune in to Radio FreeRepublic this Thursday, March 14, at 9 PM EST, and listen to the actual sounds of a terrorist in action, murdering unarmed American citizens.

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[timm22]

They should be able to show proof of this first then. In other words, it is concretely documented that certain cars are more prone to theft, therefore, the premium on them is going to be higher.

Or what about this- if you don't like the insurance company's policies, you take your business elsewhere? Why don't we just let the company decide what it wants to do and how it wants to do it?

[Khepera]

You may be on to something. Keep working on it.

[diefree]

I don't get why people get offended by atheists. If a person can't believe in God, then they can't.

At the same time, I think it's silly for people to go around declaring themselves to complete strangers, whether it's their religion or their homesexuality. It seems that they are just looking for trouble so they can say "See, these religious people are mean."