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Shannon Morgan, a resident of Leesburg, N.J., is a self-described atheist who wanted to proclaim her disbelief in God with a custom license plate. She says she went online to the state motor vehicle commission’s website and applied for a plate reading “8THEIST.”

But after she submitted her request, the site informed her that it couldn’t process it because the term she wanted “is considered objectionable,” according to a federal lawsuit she filed on Thursday. The suit says she then tested to see whether the motor vehicle agency would allow the word “BAPTIST” and discovered that the Christian term raised no red flags.

Ms. Morgan, who is represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, is accusing the state of violating her rights under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from endorsing or promoting a religion.

“Ms. Morgan is an atheist who wishes to display a New Jersey license plate that identifies herself as such. She is offended by the Commission’s decision to prohibit her from obtaining this plate,” the suit says. “The Commission’s declaration that this self-expression is ‘objectionable’ demeans her viewpoint.”

A spokeswoman for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The New Jersey Administrative Code prohibits personalized license plates from displaying “ [a]ny combination of alphabetic characters or numbers, or both, that may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency.”

Such a constitutional dispute over a personalized license plate isn’t unique to New Jersey. Law Blog reported earlier about the case of an Iraq War veteran who sued Michigan for denying his request to have a vanity license plate that says “INFIDEL.”

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/...e/?mod=smallbusiness

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