South Dakota Recognizes First Amendment

I know this will be a shocker to you, but the state will acknowledge the Bill of Rights and specifically the first amendment of the constitution in this case. As you may know Heather Moriah got a brand new beautiful customized license plate for her Prius. Even the license plate was beautiful, it read "MPEACHW."

Then the DMV of South Dakota got a call from an angry Republican and told her she would have to relinquish the plates because they were deemed offensive. Well Heather wasn't taking their threat lightly and the story went out to the press. The state officials were adamant about 'following the letter of the law' or whatever crap it took so that Heather's car couldn't scream "Impeach George W. Bush" in such a creative way.

Well after a little bit of pressure, South Dakota's DMV caved in and let her keep the license plates. The Department's Secretary Paul Kinsman even came out and made a statement:
“After reviewing case law on this issue, we have determined that the plate will not be recalled.” Well good for you Paul, I am glad you checked that other law after trying to follow the letter of the law. And of course cheers to Heather for keeping those great plates being seen around Rapid City!

MPEACHW

Liberals tend to be a creative bunch, whether it is in the arts, science or coming up with interesting license plates. Heather Moriah chose the latter to express herself and add that personal touch to her Prius that she drives around Rapid City, S.D. She wanted to match her partner's IMPCH-W plates. While she generally got good responses, one person got so offended that they contacted the DMV. Now they are taking away her plates for requesting an 'offensive' license plate.

From The Rapid City Journal:

Division of Motor Vehicles director Deb Hillmer said Thursday that the law clearly gives the state authority to recall the plates and have them forcibly removed if necessary. And although only one person complained about Moriah’s political statement, that’s all it takes to recall a set of vanity plates, Hillmer said.

“I’m following the letter of the law,” she said. “It’s offensive to someone and not in good taste and decency. And the plates are the property of the state of South Dakota.”

State law declares motor vehicle licenses plates to be the property of the state as long as the plates are valid. The law also allows personalized plates with as many as seven letters for an extra $25 fee. But it gives DMV officials the right to refuse to issue “any letter combination which carries connotations offensive to good taste and decency.”

Hillmer may be 'following' the law but if there is something on the books that allows one person to complain about a license plate and it is automatically taken away, thats a problem. There should be some sort of review to check if people don't just have an angry neighbor or someone that disagrees with your political views. South Dakota's law is in violation of the First Amendment and should be striken down or revised.