Willravel

What if they're made by Chinese prisoners....

mixedmedia

I think they're rolled on the thighs of Cuban virgins...

wait, no...that's cigars

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

guyy

I know the stickers here in Wisconsin are made by prisoners. I don't know about the plates themselves.

What everyone wants to know is whether those "live free or die plates" in NH are made in prisons.

jorgelito

Absolutely not. As long as you can choose your license plate, I see nothing wrong with it.

Locobot

I don't really see it as a violation either. However, people of other faiths (including Wiccans, Satanists, and Voodun) must also be allowed plates that express their faith. Otherwise it is discrimination and establishment of a religion by the government. This is why I'd be surprised to see any state go ahead with this.

levite

I think in some states, some license plates are still made by prisoners.

And, for the record, I think while we have "In God We Trust" on our money, we can't bar states from putting it on license plates. Whether I think we should continue to have "In God We Trust" on our money is another question....

But I absolutely resist the idea of putting a cross on license plates. That is a clear violation of the separation between church and state. And this is not about that I'm Jewish, so the state should provide me one with a Star of David or a Menorah. I don't want my religious symbols on anything issued by the government, either. The only way to guarantee freedom to practice religion for everyone is for the government to completely disassociate itself from any single religion. Which, by the way, I am not at all satisfied it is doing, and I would like it to be done much better.... But that's another question....

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Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)

pig

Out of curiosity, how you y'all feel if we had the option of having the same imagery attached to other state-issued documents? I'm thinking birth certificates, social security cards, tax forms...would that alter anyone's perception of an encroachment of church/state separation? Are there license plates available for other potentially confrontational issues? Pro-choice/pro-life...homosexual/heterosexuality? How would you fee if GLAD sponsored a "Join the Gay Way" tag that was offered in your home state?

Just thinking here...gotta go to work. Ta ta

edit: forgot to p.

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dc_dux

pig...IMO, the establishment clause in the first amendment sets a higher standard for religion than those other examples of confrontational issues.

To pass the establishment clause test, a state program/policy that "promotes" religion must have a valid secular purpose and not advance or inhibit one religion over others.

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loquitur

well, dc_dux, yes and no. You also can't discriminate against religion or treat religion as a subject differently from any other, otherwise it's a content-based restriction in violation of freedom of speech. So I'm not sure you're right that the first amendment sets a higher standard on the expression side. The issue is what constitutes "an establishment of religion."

This particular thicket has caused huge problems in Establishment Clause jurisprudence, which (IMHO) borders on the incoherent. I'm not suggesting an answer here because I don't have one.

Poppinjay

That'll do pig. That'll do.

I just wanted to type that.

It would be almost impossible to quantify, but if it's a hot button issue, it should not be on plates. If it's not a hot button issue, but somebody is trying to make it into one, they should be defenestrated.

Maybe having the UMC cross and flame on your plate should be allowed, but not "My Belief, or HELL". Or any issue where there are large groups both for and against an issue. So, no pro-life/pro-choice.

Or maybe I'm just going to hell. Does anybody need to me to pick up something while I'm there? I hear they have a great Wal Mart.

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pig

What the crap? I could have sworn I hit 'edit', not 'quote. Oh well.

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mixedmedia

We already have 'choose life' vehicle tags here in Florida.



They're very popular.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

pig

I'm fine with all these license tags, as long as you have a Billy Ray Cyrus mullet to go along with them. Or if you always smell strangely of baby powder. Otherwise...

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You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

mixedmedia

I don't get close enough to smell them.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

ScottKuma

(post removed) I didn't read the entire thread and posted on one of the first replies.... I know better and removed it for relevancy.

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