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posted by CoolHand on Sunday April 05 2015, @04:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the lemme-say-whut-i-want dept.

Recently, oral arguments were heard regarding a case about license plates and the first amendment. The Texas division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has challenged a rejection of their proposed plate that had images of the Confederate flag.

The Texas solicitor general argued that, "Messages on Texas license plates are government speech ... [because] Texas etches its name onto each license plate and Texas law gives the state sole control and final approval authority over everything that appears on a license plate.”

Please share your ideas/comments on this case or your views on vanity plates in general.

Story: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-supreme-court-confederate-license-plates-20150323-story.html
Case: http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2014/2014_14_144
What a vanity plate is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_plate

 
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by mr_mischief on Sunday April 05 2015, @05:54PM

    by mr_mischief (4884) on Sunday April 05 2015, @05:54PM (#166709)

    IANAL but I'm not so sure it's that black and white. The complaints so far have been over whether a business will sell to a particular party. None of it AFAICT has gone into the specifics of making a business sell specifically offense items. There's a big difference between a printer having to take on business from a gay couple to make wedding invitations and the specific request of a brochure or flyer for a dominatrix's dungeon of sexual torture.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 05 2015, @06:17PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 05 2015, @06:17PM (#166723) Journal

    Who says there is a difference between the two examples you offer? They are different, because YOU SAY SO? Well - my opinion is worth as much as yours is, and I say there is no difference.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Grishnakh on Monday April 06 2015, @12:11AM

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday April 06 2015, @12:11AM (#166801)

      In Indiana, there might not legally be a difference, but in many other states, sexual orientation is a protected class, and you're not allowed to discriminate based on that alone. So they're different because *the government says so*, and yes, their opinion is worth more than yours.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @02:48AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @02:48AM (#166832)

        Their opinion is merely backed up by force, so expect their wishes to come true far more often. Actual value (the worth of an opinion) is subjective.

  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday April 05 2015, @06:22PM

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday April 05 2015, @06:22PM (#166729) Journal

    The complaints so far have been over whether a business will sell to a particular party.

    Actually the complaint was over the refusal to put two groom figurines on the cake.

    The cases were all "bait cases". Bride and groom, or groom and groom, never show up to buy their own cake these days. The wedding planner or does that stuff.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 3, Touché) by FakeBeldin on Monday April 06 2015, @02:56PM

      by FakeBeldin (3360) on Monday April 06 2015, @02:56PM (#166992) Journal

      I showed up to buy my own wedding cake.
      As a matter of fact, I showed up twice (there were three cakes, and I could only manage two in one go).

      I guess two wrongs make a right, so you're still in the clear?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2015, @03:46PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2015, @03:46PM (#167881)

        I showed up to buy my wedding cake too, so we're back to the GP being wrong on that :p.
        (although I don't actually remember the figures on the cake, I do remember it tasting pretty good!)