As Maine is taking a tougher stance on what it considers to be inappropriate custom license plates, a vegan man has been caught up in the fray for his plate expressing his love for tofu.
Drivers all over the US can pay a fee to have a custom license plate made, leading officials to have to decide what’s deemed acceptable and what should be out of bounds on the roads.
Maine’s regulations have been particularly loose on the matter, allowing almost any combination of letters and numbers, many of which would not have been authorised in other states, according to the Associated Press.
But that’s now changing – the state recalled 274 license plates this year, prompting some to push back and appeal the decision.
The state has so far rejected all appeals, including that of a vegan man who decided to express his love of tofu on his plate with the message “LUVTOFU,” which the state ruled could be seen as a reference to sex rather than the food item.
Peter Starostecki told the AP said the tofu stickers on his car made clear what the plate was about.
“It’s my protest against eating meat and animal products,” he said following a zoom meeting with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Heather Libby had matching license plates with her best friend which included the word for a female dog, prompting their recall.
“People are so sensitive nowadays,” she told the news agency. “I just think it’s foolish.”
The state ended its vanity-plate review process in 2015, leading to profane plates on the roads.
Plates mixed f*** with other words, such as “snow,” “haters,” and “ALS,” among others.
The Maine legislature reacted by instructing the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to once again put in place a system for checking the state’s 120,000 custom plates.
The fresh regulations ban derogatory language in reference to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, or disability, as well as language inciting violence, or is thought to be offensive.
The officials in charge of adjudicating what messages are allowed on the plates now have to strike a balance similar to officials in other US states.
In California in 2020, a federal judge ruled that the state’s ban on plates which are “offensive to good taste and decency” was too broad and violated free speech rights.
The plate “LUVTOFU” was rejected in Texas earlier this year, prompting criticism from animal rights groups.
Maine’s Secretary of State, Democrat Shenna Bellows, told the AP that drivers should use bumper stickers to express themselves rather than license plates issued by the state.
“We have a public interest in keeping phrases and words that are profane or may incite violence off the roadways,” she said.
There have so far been 13 appeals against recalled plates in the state, but more could come. If a hearing examiner rejects an appeal from a driver, they can take the next step and move on to Superior Court, which no one has done so far.
Mr Starostecki was offered the plate V3GAN instead but chose to go back to a randomly selected combination of letters and symbols chosen by the state.
Ms Libby lost her b**** plate but instead got one paying homage to her dog Zeus.
“That could be offensive to someone because it’s a Greek god,” she joked to the AP. “But I hope not.”
