micknaboz
November 29th, 2007, 1:12:46 PM
What ever happened to that guy anyways?
DMV demands man return plates that call for al-Qaida leader’s capture
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A retired police officer is seeking a court order to force the state Department of Motor Vehicles to drop its demand that he return vanity license plates calling for the capture or death of Osama bin Laden.
Arno Herwerth, a 21-year veteran of the New York Police Department, said he requested the “GETOSAMA” plates earlier this month to send a political message. He said he was surprised to hear, after receiving the plates, that the DMV wanted them back.
In a Nov. 15 letter to Herwerth, the agency cited a regulation prohibiting plates that could be considered “obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group or patently offensive.” It returned his previous generic license plates and asked that he send the “GETOSAMA” plates, which were issued Nov. 2, back to its Albany headquarters.
~snip~
“That’s the oddity of this case,” Amicizia said. “I’ve never heard of a First Amendment case that seeks to suppress patriotic speech.”
Tara Keenan-Thomson, executive director of the Nassau County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said she is aware that states have denied plates based on offensive messages, but she is not sure why the “GETOSAMA” plates were interpreted negatively by state officials.
“What is unique is that this message does reflect the policies of the present administration,” she said. “When ‘offensive’ is applied to political views, it encroaches on free speech.”
The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
DMV demands man return plates that call for al-Qaida leader’s capture
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A retired police officer is seeking a court order to force the state Department of Motor Vehicles to drop its demand that he return vanity license plates calling for the capture or death of Osama bin Laden.
Arno Herwerth, a 21-year veteran of the New York Police Department, said he requested the “GETOSAMA” plates earlier this month to send a political message. He said he was surprised to hear, after receiving the plates, that the DMV wanted them back.
In a Nov. 15 letter to Herwerth, the agency cited a regulation prohibiting plates that could be considered “obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group or patently offensive.” It returned his previous generic license plates and asked that he send the “GETOSAMA” plates, which were issued Nov. 2, back to its Albany headquarters.
~snip~
“That’s the oddity of this case,” Amicizia said. “I’ve never heard of a First Amendment case that seeks to suppress patriotic speech.”
Tara Keenan-Thomson, executive director of the Nassau County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said she is aware that states have denied plates based on offensive messages, but she is not sure why the “GETOSAMA” plates were interpreted negatively by state officials.
“What is unique is that this message does reflect the policies of the present administration,” she said. “When ‘offensive’ is applied to political views, it encroaches on free speech.”
The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02