vanity plates

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Michigan Fan Sues After Losing Cherished License Plate

'G0BLUE' had been in the family for years

(Newser) - Die-hard University of Michigan fans are unequivocal when it comes to their favorite phrase: Go Blue. One Michigan family has been lucky enough to have that on their license plate for decades—or had been. Joseph Hardig III is suing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson after he claims the...

ACLU Sues South Dakota Over Vanity Plate Restrictions

Civil rights group has beef with state's initial rejection of man's application for 'REZWEED' plate

(Newser) - The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota announced Monday that it's suing South Dakota over a state law that restricts content on vanity plates. The ACLU said in a press release that it filed the lawsuit on behalf of Lyndon Hart, whose application for a plate that said...

Alaska DMV Investigating Case of '3REICH' License Plate

'FUHRER' was also recently spotted in Anchorage

(Newser) - You're stopped at a traffic light and see a vanity plate that catches your eye. That's what happened to Matt Tunseth in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, though it may have seemed more like he was in 1940s Berlin. The plate in front of him read "3REICH,"...

Guy Wins Fight to Get 'Come On You Whites' License Plate

Department of Motor Vehicles admits soccer team slogan isn't racist in settlement

(Newser) - A California soccer fan has won in his attempt to honor his favorite soccer team with the vanity plate "COYW"—an acronym for the slogan "Come On You Whites." The state DMV initially said the tagline has offensive connotations, but on Tuesday said it would give...

DMV Wants Mom to Turn In Her 'PB4WEGO' License Plate

NH mom says vanity plate she's had for 15 years is funny, not offensive

(Newser) - A mother in New Hampshire is battling to keep her vanity license plate referencing an "excretory function"—though she says there's nothing offensive about "PB4WEGO." "I'm not the type to sit here with a picket, but come on," Wendy Auger of Gonic...

He Got a Vanity Plate Reading 'NULL.' Bad Idea
He Got a Joke Vanity Plate.
The Joke Was on Him
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He Got a Joke Vanity Plate. The Joke Was on Him

'NULL' turned out to be a painful choice for Joseph Tartaro

(Newser) - A California man's 2016 decision to get a vanity license plate set him on a path into a "Kafkaesque loop," reports Wired in a look at Joseph Tartaro's predicament. The computer security researcher began brainstorming possibilities that related to his industry, including "null pointer."...

Canada Says Man's Surname Too Offensive for License Plate

It offers its sincerest apologies to Mr. Grabher

(Newser) - A Canadian provincial government has withdrawn a man's eponymous personalized vehicle license plate, saying Lorne Grabher's surname is offensive to women when viewed on his car bumper. Grabher said Friday that he put his last name on the license plate decades ago as a gift for his late...

Court: No, You Can't Curse in Spanish on Your Vanity Plate

Free speech does not cover Maryland man's right to MIERDA

(Newser) - An appeals court has ruled that Maryland officials did not violate a driver's right to free speech by recalling a vanity license plate that displayed an offensive Spanish word. The Maryland Court of Appeals unanimously decided Friday that the words conveyed on a state-issued license plate constitute "private...

Vanity Plate Critic Clearly Not a Spinal Tap Fan

Washington man finds 'GOES211' offensive

(Newser) - Of all the vanity-plate hullabaloo in the press lately, this story out of Washington state might be the best: Tony Cava was alerted to the fact that someone found his "GOES211" plate "vulgar, profane, or offensive to good taste and decency." As the Seattle Times reports, the...

Woman Busted Thanks to 'ZOMBIE' License Plate

You're not too hard to find when you're cruising in a car advertising the undead

(Newser) - One Pennsylvania woman's apparent affection for the undead has led to some unforeseen consequences. Yardley Joy Frantz allegedly ran into a man and his nephew with her car around 7pm on Friday. When the man's son came to help and confronted her, she reportedly zapped him with a...

Man Sues Nevada Over 'GOPALIN' License Plate

State initially denied it as too political

(Newser) - A Nevada man is suing the state for its initial refusal to issue him a vanity plate reading “GOPALIN” on the grounds that it was too political. According to James Linlor, the state had approved other such plates—like “DMOCRAT” or “AL GORE”—and when he...

Mississippi Considers Plate Honoring ... KKK Leader

Sons of Confederate Veterans want to honor general-turned Klan leader

(Newser) - The Sons of Confederate Veterans have rustled up some controversy in Mississippi, by proposing a specialty license plate honoring Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the earliest Grand Wizards of the Ku Klux Klan. The group wants the state to issue a series of plates commemorating the 150th anniversary...

ILVTOFU Plate Too Spicy for Colo. DMV

(Newser) - A Colorado woman who wanted to advertise her vegan diet with an ILVTOFU vanity license plate is out of luck, the Denver Post reports. The state’s DMV maintains a list of banned letter combinations, of which FU is one. “We don’t allow ‘FU’ because some people...

NY Driver Free to Put bin Laden Reminder on Car

Former NYPD officer settles fight with DMV over 9/11-related license plates

(Newser) - A retired New York City police officer is free to use the vanity license plate “GETOSAMA” after settling a yearlong dispute with the DMV, the AP reports. Arno Herwerth ordered the tags to remind fellow motorists that the Sept. 11 mastermind was still on the loose; the DMV delivered,...

Obama Tags Are 'Hot' Commodity

Long Island man can't keep vanity plates away from thieves

(Newser) - A New York supporter of Barack Obama has vanity plates bearing his candidate’s name, but dares not use them, the Post reports. The man, who got the plates during the primaries, has caught thieves trying to pry them off his car. “Those plates will probably, at some point,...

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