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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
(Score: 5, Interesting) by M. Baranczak on Sunday April 05 2015, @07:01PM
You're wrong. As a general rule, it's legal to discriminate, unless specifically prohibited. If you have an apartment for rent, you can't say "no Jews or Niggers", but you can say "no Red Sox fans", and there's nothing anyone can do about that. Race, religion and nationality are protected from discrimination pretty much all over the country, but for other categories it varies. In Indiana, sexual orientation was never a "protected category"; so the good Christian businessmen of that state already had the right to turn away sodomites if they wanted to. And I don't think there's any jurisdiction that bans anti-KKK discrimination.
Side note: I hereby announce that my conscience doesn't allow me to write server-side software for same-sex weddings. Or Star Wars themed weddings, for that matter. I ask my brothers in Christ to give me their full support, and raise money to offset the resulting loss of income. [nbcnews.com]
And all this has fuck-all to do with the original subject, which is license plates.
(Score: 2) by Aichon on Sunday April 05 2015, @07:07PM
In Indiana, sexual orientation was never a "protected category"; so the good Christian businessmen of that state already had the right to turn away sodomites if they wanted to.
If that's true, then what's the recent brouhaha over the new law all about? Why would they need a law to make legal something that was already legal?
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Sunday April 05 2015, @07:20PM
Good question. A lot of it is just hot air, from both sides. They didn't "need" this law, they were just pissed off because the courts legalized gay marriage in the state. I don't think there was a lot of legal thought that went into this bill, somebody just wrote it on a cocktail napkin and before you know it, it got passed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 05 2015, @09:36PM
I think it is a pre-emptive attack against gender becoming a protected class.
If they get laws like this on the books that will make it just that much harder to pass anti-discrimination laws. For example its legal to fire someone for being gay in about 30 states today. That is not going to stand, enough 20-somethings find that idea to be abhorrent. Laws like this will need to be dismantled in the process. They will still be dismantled, its just more work.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 05 2015, @09:15PM
They amended it to be creed as well. Basically you do not get to discriminate.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/ [archives.gov]
The whole thing will blow over once it hits the courts. As it is breaks federal law. Typically federal law trumps state.
but for other categories it varies
At that point federal steps in. It is very clear. Do not discriminate. Even if they are a red sox fan.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 05 2015, @09:37PM
Typically federal law trumps state.
How so? What about the 9th amendment? The constitution is set up so that the federal government can only do what the constitution says it can, while all other powers are reserved for the people and the states.
(Score: 2) by LancePodstrong on Monday April 06 2015, @01:42AM
You think it really works that way? You're new here aren't you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @05:36AM
When you understand Constitutional Law, then it makes sense. When you don't, you get to be all emo and shit and be whiny and nihilistic.