Banned as Unconstitutional
Photo Credit: Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship
For North Carolina residents looking to tout pro-life values on their state-granted license plates, disappointment abounds. U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox has ruled against plates that read “Choose Life” — unless the state government also creates a similar design for individuals who support abortion rights. — The Blaze
According to the judge’s reasoning, unless the state issues “Choose Death!” license plates for people who would want to advertise such things, it cannot issue plates urging people to choose life.
I suppose there is no way of getting around this being a “freedom of speech issue,” when you look at it from the perspective of “choose death people,” who certainly have a right to express their opinion in the same forum as those who prefer to choose life. However, I find it hard not to see this as a repression of free speech.
For one, the license plate does not read “Pro-Life,” but “Choose Life.” In that respect, the plate does support “choice,” does it not?
To directly counter this plate and represent the opposing voice, plates would have to read something to the effect of: “Choose Death,” or “Death to the Unborn.” Not the type of thing a state would want to sanction with it’s licence plates, obviously. So therefore, no one can promote a reasonably uplifting message?
Well then, let’s also ban environmentalist license plates. This is not something I want to advocate, but using the judge’s logic, the opposition to the EPA is not equally represented on the backs of cars. What about their voice?
We also need to do away with pet owners’ license plates, since there are other people who believe that owning animals constitutes cruelty to animals, and their voices are not being heard.
What this is, simply just is that abortionists do not what the pro-life voice to be expressed or heard in the public forum. Period. It’s a shame when the judicial system cannot see that for what it is.
Biltrix 
It is incredible how far a broken mind can go–one bent on opposing what God says and values!
Moreover, the government that is supposed to protect free speech, is just finding subtle ways to surpress it according to law. Will the same law protect us against the HHS mandate? Well know where things stand around June, perhaps. Keep praying for a just and reasonable outcome.
It is a spiritual battle, and there are casualties in the war, but it should not be the children and the needy. Lord, help!
when you know in your heart that you are wrong, you use oppression to silence the voice of truth.
Well said!
Now c’mon, James: where is it written that you have the right to openly and freely express your opinion???
Oh. Right. I forgot…
Just more and more of society saying “you have the right to your own belief…as long as it agrees with ours”. Welcome to the New Freedom.
Bears a striking resemblance to the USSR, at least to me:
QUOTE: “Anti-religious propaganda was openly sponsored and encouraged by the government, to which the Church was not given an opportunity to publicly respond. Atheism was propagated through schools, communist organizations, and the media. ”
—(from the Wikipedia page on ‘Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union’)
Nothing to see here; move along….
It’s the new PRAVDA, right here in our own back yard.
my reaction as well when I read this post.
What about the voices of people who hate their states, or who oppose public parks? Lots of plates advertise pride in states and their parks. That’s biased too.
It is a slippery slope. Once you start reasoning the way this judge did, where does it all end? Any voice can be silenced by the opposition just not openly expressing themselves in the same way in the same forum. How do you counter act that?
Disturbingly corrupt judgment. Can we expect better decisions for people of faith based on the prior election? I think not. Please pray for our country!
Right, Peter. We need to pray as though it all depends on God (because in some sense it does); Work as if it depends on us (because we can no longer be complacent). Let’s keep up the good fight for our faith and for our country.
What a nasty little piece of folly that ruling is. I think I’ll make sure I’m including “wisdom for jurists” in my prayers . . .
Better still, I think we need to pray for wise jurists, because once they are in, they are in for LIFE.
Amen.
Reblogged this on The Peanut Gallery.
Thanks for the reblog, Art!
Reblogged this on The Peanut Gallery.
Tyranny meets the U.S. This does indeed violate North Carolinians right to free speech. I haven’t heard the pro-choice crowd ask for license plates so the ruling is nonsensical and a misinterpretation of the Constitution by the judge IMO. Why didn’t the judge give the pro-choice crowd the option to have a license plate? This is suppression or oppression. Squelching an opposing view. This irks me to no end. The judge needs our prayers.
Why did the judge not give the opposition the option to have a license plate? Fair question. Citizen Tom Gets into that in his comment below. The judge not only stomps on North Carolinians’ free speech, he usurps the voters rights by usurping the power of the elected legislators.
The judge does need our prayers, but with 4 more years of Obama appointing judges, we need to pray for a miracle for our country.
Thanks for rebloging, Teresa!
Reblogged this on Catholibertarian and commented:
This is a violation of Carolinians free speech. I wonder if this would have happened if this was a license plate created by the pro-abortion (pro-choice) crowd? Would the judge have deemed it unconstitutional based on the lack of having a license plate showcasing the other side? Somehow I doubt it. This judge misinterpreted the First Amendment and squelched an opposing point of view. His reasoning for declaring the choose life plate unconstitutional is nonsensical. Tyranny meets the U.S. This judge needs our prayers.
This judge must not have read the First Amendment. There is such a thing as states rights.
That is precisely what this judge shot down. See Citizen Tom’s comment below.
Reblogged this on Citizen Tom and commented:
What this means is that the legislature in North Carolina cannot decide what goes on a license plate.
Here is the supposed problem.
During the fight to get the bill passed, North Carolina lawmakers voted down amendments that would have created pro-choice alternatives such as “Trust Women. Respect Choice,” the affiliate reported.
(from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/11/federal-judge-rules-north-carolina-choose-life-license-plate-unconstitutional/)
The judge’s decision may sound fair, but judges tend to be “fair” quite selectively. What they are suppose to do is decide cases based upon what the law actually says and was intended to do. Instead, too many judges try to decide what is “fair.”
Did the NC state legislature silence the pro-abortion movement? No. The folks in the pro-abortion movement still have the right to free speech. The NC state legislature picked sides. When we elect people, and we win, the people we elect are suppose to take the side of the people who put them into office. What they are not suppose to do is violate the rights of the people who did not vote for them.
The Federal judge doesn’t like the officials the citizens of North Carolina elected. So that judge is overruling their vote, and that is how people’s rights are being violated. The judge telling the NC state legislature to shut up.
Don’t forget Obama has four more years to appoint judges to the Supreme Court. Given the two he has already appointed……….
Thanks for rebloging this and for your insightful comment, Citizen Tom. God bless!
Those people also oppose a death sentence for violent criminals
It’s probably too much to expect them to be consistent at this point. Conversion of heart is their best hope. Keep praying!
In order to remain fully Constitutional I suggest an NC plate that reads “NC – land where gay marriage is unconstitutional” (“Gay marriage” was deemed unconstitutional by NC voters this past May).