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NEW YORK---Saying that "Choose Life" is an anti-abortion message that might lead to road rage if it were displayed on vehicles, New York Assistant Solicitor General Jennifer Grace Miller defended the state in a lawsuit which charges that the state has unconstitutionally banned the phrase from customized license plates.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case Monday brought by the pro-adoption group, Children First Foundation Inc. They maintain that the state's refusal to allow the phrase on license plates is an unconstitutional restriction of freedom of speech.
An Albany Supreme Court judge had ruled that the lawsuit against officials of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Gov. George E. Pataki and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer could proceed. The state appealed, claiming that the lawsuit should have been dismissed because the refusal to allow the wording didn't violate the First Amendment.
The state said in court briefs that it refused the group's request "to avoid any appearance of governmental support for either side in the divisive national abortion debate".
Application to the state for the customized plate was made by Elizabeth B. Rex, co-founder and president of Children First after she read about its existence in Florida. She said that the plate has raised more than $5 million since its introduction.
The issue has been debated in courts nationwide. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that South Carolina's "Choose Life" plates violated the First Amendment because a similar forum wasn't available to abortion rights advocates.
However, there doesn't appear to be any reason why abortion advocates couldn't propose their own plate.
During arguments Monday, Judge Dennis Jacobs seemed to side with the state. "If you win, then white supremacist organizations and the Klu Klux Klan can have license plates. There'd be a lot of road rage following that".
In its written rejection of the charitable organization's request, the DMV said it couldn't allow something on the roadways "that will incite the type of anger and outrage as we have seen outside abortion clinics in New York state and elsewhere".
The group says that because the state has already approved a wide range of plates for a diverse array of organizations, it has created a designated public forum in which the full protections of the First Amendment are applicable. 12-20-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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