AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) 鈥 A Maine vegan whose custom license plate contains the word 鈥渢ofu鈥 is one of the motorists caught in a state crackdown on vulgar tags.
Car owners across the United States can pay an extra fee to customize license plates, sparking creativity and personality but causing headaches for state officials who have to decide what鈥檚 acceptable.
Maine had for several years allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban. But the state decided to change course and this year recalled 274 plates it deemed inappropriate.
Some people are fighting back.
So far the state has rejected all of the appeals, including one brought by the vegan whose license plate referenced tofu.
The state concluded the license plate 鈥淟UVTOFU鈥 could鈥檝e been seen as a reference to sex instead of admiration for bean curd. The motorist insisted there was no mistaking his intent because the back of his car had several tofu-related stickers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my protest against eating meat and animal products,鈥 Peter Starostecki, the disappointed motorist, said after a zoom session with a hearing examiner for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Heather Libby and her best friend grudgingly gave up their matching license plates that contained a word for a female dog.
鈥淧eople are so sensitive nowadays,鈥 said Libby, of Jonesport, after a hearing examiner rejected her appeal. 鈥淚 just think it鈥檚 foolish.鈥
When the state effectively ended the review process for so-called vanity license plates in 2015, some residents filled their plates with all manner of profanities, including F-bombs, either spelled out or abbreviated.
Residents in a state known for being laconic and even-tempered soon were sporting uncensored plates pairing the F-word with 鈥渟now,鈥 鈥渉aters,鈥 and 鈥淎LS,鈥 鈥 the incurable neurodegenerative disease.
After license plate freedoms spiraled out of control, the Maine Legislature directed the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reestablish a system for vetting the state鈥檚 roughly 120,000 vanity license plates.
The new rules ban derogatory references to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability. Also banned is language that incites violence, or is considered obscene.
Restored as censors, Maine鈥檚 vehicular officials now walk a similar tightrope as their colleagues in other states.
In 2020, a federal judge ruled that California鈥檚 ban on plates that are 鈥渙ffensive to good taste and decency鈥 was overly broad, and to free speech. Earlier this year, Texas officials rejected a license plate similar to Starostecki鈥檚 鈥 鈥淟VTOFU鈥 鈥 leading to rebukes from an animal rights group.
Maine鈥檚 rules were narrowly crafted to pass legal muster, officials said.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said motorists have the freedom to express themselves, but she said that they should do it on a bumper sticker, not a state-issued license plate.
鈥淲e have a public interest in keeping phrases and words that are profane or may incite violence off the roadways,鈥 she said.
She said she鈥檚 happy that most motorists have relinquished their objectionable license plates without a fight. So far, there have been only 13 appeals, but there could be more.
If a motorist loses an appeal to a hearing examiner, then they can sue in Superior Court. So far, no one has taken that step.
As for Starostecki, he was offered another license plate that had become available, V3GAN. But he decided he was done with vanity plates. He鈥檚 awaiting a new license plate 鈥 a boring one randomly selected by the state.
Libby, who lost her B-word plate, got a custom plate celebrating her dog Zeus, named for the mythical god of thunder. 鈥淭hat could be offensive to someone because it鈥檚 a Greek god,鈥 she quipped. 鈥淏ut I hope not.鈥
___
Follow David Sharp on Twitter
