SAN FRANCISCO – A recent ruling out of the Northern District of California has concluded the Californian Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) violated the first amendment rights of vanity license plate applicants after refusing requests it deemed “offensive to good taste and decency."
In March, a case was filed on behalf of five California residents who were denied vanity plates that represented various aspects of their personalities.
Examples include the denial of a plate that read “OGWOOLF," which the DMV claimed was a reference to "original gangster" when in reality it signified the applicant's affinity for wolves, a report posted on the Driving.ca website said. Another instance of this policy on the part of the DMV was the refusal of a plate entitled “QUEER," which was made on the grounds that the plate would be offensive toward others.
The Northern California Record reached out to the DMV for comment and was told that the Department was "currently reviewing the court's decision."
"We’re very pleased that our clients are now able to express themselves in the same way that over a million other Californians do each year," Wen Fa; an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit; told the Record. "The record in the case shows that the Department’s good taste and decency regulation inevitably leads to inconsistent, subjective and arbitrary decision-making by the DMV. The court’s decision affirms that the Department must be guided by objective, workable standards and governed by the rule of law."
For free speech advocates in California and across the United States, the ruling could be viewed as a major victory against government agencies attempting to control the discourse and expression of residents.