Mountain Media, LLC
  • West Virginia News
    • Around The State
    • By Paper
      • Mountain Messenger
      • Pocahontas Times
      • Parsons Advocate
      • Pendleton Times
      • Clay County Free Press
      • Calhoun Chronicle
      • Shinnston News
    • By County
      • Greenbrier County
      • Clay County
      • Harrison County
      • Calhoun County
      • Pocahontas County
      • Pendleton County
      • Tucker County
  • Virginia Media, INC
    • Around The State
    • By Paper
      • The Enterprise
      • Fincastle Herald
      • Henry County Enterprise
      • News Messenger
      • News Journal
      • Vinton Messenger
      • New Castle Record
      • Salem Times Register
    • By County/City
      • Botetourt County
      • Henry County
      • Radford
      • Christiansburg/Blacksburg
      • Patrick County
      • Vinton
      • Roanoke
      • Salem
      • Craig County
  • National News
  • About Us
  • Submit Content
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • Login
  • My account
Subscribe For $2.50/Month
No Result
View All Result
MM, LLC
  • West Virginia News
    • Around The State
    • By Paper
      • Mountain Messenger
      • Pocahontas Times
      • Parsons Advocate
      • Pendleton Times
      • Clay County Free Press
      • Calhoun Chronicle
      • Shinnston News
    • By County
      • Greenbrier County
      • Clay County
      • Harrison County
      • Calhoun County
      • Pocahontas County
      • Pendleton County
      • Tucker County
  • Virginia Media, INC
    • Around The State
    • By Paper
      • The Enterprise
      • Fincastle Herald
      • Henry County Enterprise
      • News Messenger
      • News Journal
      • Vinton Messenger
      • New Castle Record
      • Salem Times Register
    • By County/City
      • Botetourt County
      • Henry County
      • Radford
      • Christiansburg/Blacksburg
      • Patrick County
      • Vinton
      • Roanoke
      • Salem
      • Craig County
  • National News
  • About Us
  • Submit Content
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • Login
  • My account
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Media, LLC
  • Virginia News
  • West Virginia News
  • National News
  • Login
  • My account
  • Subscribe
Home Local National News

Maine motorists appeal to keep naughty vanity license plates

March 9, 2023
in National News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine vegan whose custom license plate contains the word “tofu” is one of the motorists caught in a state crackdown on vulgar license plates.

Car owners across the United States can pay an extra fee to customize license plates, sparking creativity and personality but causing headaches for state officials who have to decide what’s acceptable.

Maine had for several years allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban. But the state decided to change course and this year recalled 274 plates it deemed inappropriate.

Some people are fighting back.

So far the state has rejected all of the appeals, including one brought by the vegan whose license plate referenced tofu.

The state concluded the license plate “LUVTOFU” could’ve been seen as a reference to sex instead of admiration for bean curd. The motorist insisted there was no mistaking his intent because the back of his car had several tofu-related stickers.

“It’s my protest against eating meat and animal products,” Peter Starostecki, the disappointed motorist, said after a zoom session with a hearing examiner for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Heather Libby and her best friend grudgingly gave up their matching license plates that contained a word for a female dog.

“People are so sensitive nowadays,” said Libby, of Jonesport, after a hearing examiner rejected her appeal. “I just think it’s foolish.”

When the state effectively ended the review process for so-called “vanity” license plates in 2015, some residents obtained their plates with all manner of profanities, including F-bombs, either spelled out or abbreviated.

Residents in a state known for being laconic and even-tempered soon were sporting uncensored plates pairing the F-word with “snow,” “haters,” and “ALS,” — the incurable nerodegenerative disease.

After license plate freedoms spiraled out of control, the Maine Legislature directed the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reestablish a system for vetting the state’s roughly 120,000 vanity license plates.

The new rules ban derogatory references to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability. Also banned is language that incite violence, or is considered obscene.

Restored as censors, Maine’s vehicular officials now walk a similar tightrope as their colleagues in other states.

In 2020, a federal judge ruled California’s ban on plates that are “offensive to good taste and decency” was overly broad, and violated constitutional rights to free speech. Earlier this year, Texas officials rejected a license plate similar to Starostecki’s — “LVTOFU” — leading to rebuke from an animal rights group.

Maine’s rules were narrowly crafted to pass legal muster, officials said.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said motorists have the freedom to express themselves, but she said that they should do it on a bumper sticker, not a state-issued license plate.

“We have a public interest in keeping phrases and words that are profane or may incite violence off the roadways,” she said.

She said she’s happy that most motorists have relinquished their objectionable license plates without a fight. So far, there have been only 13 appeals, but there could be more.

If a motorist loses an appeal to a hearing examiner, then they can sue in Superior Court. So far, no one has taken that step.

As for Starostecki, he was offered another license plate that had become available, V3GAN. But he decided he was done with vanity plates. He’s awaiting a new license plate — a boring one randomly selected by the state.

Libby, who lost her B-word plate, got a custom plate celebrating her dog Zeus, named for the mythical god of thunder. “That could be offensive to someone because it’s a Greek god,” she quipped. “But I hope not.”

___

Follow David Sharp on Twitter @David_Sharp_AP

ShareTweetShare

Related Posts

Miami Beach sets spring break curfew after 2 fatal shootings

March 20, 2023

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Miami Beach officials imposed a curfew beginning Sunday night during spring break after two fatal...

Fear, grief follow deadly quake on Ecuador’s southwest coast

March 20, 2023

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Some affectionally call Machala the "Banana Capital of the World." This port community on Ecuador's Pacific...

Biden calls Israel’s Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’

March 20, 2023

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express "concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of...

UBS to buy Credit Suisse for nearly $3.25B to calm turmoil

March 20, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted...

Silicon Valley Bank collapse concerns founders of color

March 19, 2023

In the hours after some of Silicon Valley Bank’s biggest customers started pulling out their money, a WhatsApp group of...

Fight over science holds up key UN climate report

March 19, 2023

BERLIN (AP) — Publication of a major new United Nations report on climate change is being held up by a...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • My account
  • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
Call us: +1 234 JEG THEME

© 2021 Mountain Media, LLC

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
  • West Virginia News
    • Around The State
    • By Paper
      • Mountain Messenger
      • Pocahontas Times
      • Parsons Advocate
      • Pendleton Times
      • Clay County Free Press
      • Calhoun Chronicle
      • Shinnston News
    • By County
      • Greenbrier County
      • Clay County
      • Harrison County
      • Calhoun County
      • Pocahontas County
      • Pendleton County
      • Tucker County
  • Virginia Media, INC
    • Around The State
    • By Paper
      • The Enterprise
      • Fincastle Herald
      • Henry County Enterprise
      • News Messenger
      • News Journal
      • Vinton Messenger
      • New Castle Record
      • Salem Times Register
    • By County/City
      • Botetourt County
      • Henry County
      • Radford
      • Christiansburg/Blacksburg
      • Patrick County
      • Vinton
      • Roanoke
      • Salem
      • Craig County
  • National News
  • About Us
  • Submit Content
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • Login
  • My account

© 2021 Mountain Media, LLC

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
  • Sign in
  • New account

Forgot your password?

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login