A federal judge ruled that the state of Kentucky cannot stop one of its residents from making an “IM GOD” vanity license plate.
Bennie Hart, a retired postal worker, applied for a vanity license plate for his vehicle in 2016 that read “IM GOD.” Hart’s request was denied because the state claimed that vanity plates were not subject to First Amendment protections because they are approved by the state and are, therefore, the state’s speech.
The defense argued that the state’s argument could be a slippery slope because the state had already approved vanity license plates that said “EATGAS,” “VEGAN,” and “BBQ4U,” which were not official endorsements by the state.
Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove agreed, writing, “If the Court finds that vanity plates are government speech, then the Court would also be finding that Kentucky has officially endorsed the words ‘UDDER,’ ‘BOOGR,’ JUICY,’ ‘W8LOSS,’ and ‘FATA55.’”
Van Tatenhove also shot down the state’s argument that the licence plate would be an unsafe destruction for other drivers on the road, writing, “If the Transportation Cabinet genuinely wants to avoid controversy on Kentucky’s highways by preventing ‘promotion of any specific faith, religion, or anti-religion’ from appearing on vanity plates, then it should have denied ‘IM4GOD’, ‘ASKGOD’, ‘GR8GOD’, ‘LUVGOD.’ But it did not.”
He added, “To allow such plates as ‘IM4GOD’ and ‘LUVGOD’ but reject ‘IM GOD’ belies viewpoint neutrality.”
The ACLU and Freedom From Religion Foundation provided Hart’s defense.
Mr. Hart had a similar license plate when he lived in Ohio, before moving to Kentucky where the plate was found to be “not in good taste” by the @KYTC. pic.twitter.com/GbNANI4EvC
— ACLU of Kentucky (@ACLUofKY) November 13, 2019
In a statement from the ACLU, Hart said, “I’m thankful to finally have the same opportunity to select a personal message for my license plate just as any other driver. There is nothing inappropriate about my view that religious beliefs are subject to individual interpretation.”
This was not the first time Hart requested the “IM GOD” vanity plate. He had the same license plate on a vehicle registered in Ohio.
