Mary Beth Schneider has an interesting story on license plates (to the extent license plates can ever be particularly interesting.) Basically, there are two ways a new license plate can be authorized: directly through legislation created by the General Assembly or administratively by meeting certain criteria set forth by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. I believe there are about 30 license plates that have been created by the General Assembly. I don’t know how many have been created administratively.
The story describes the surprise of groups petitioning for special license plates for the Special Olympics and for a POW-MIA license plate at not being approved while the “Choose Life” plate which will benefit “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” was approved. All of these petitioners met the statutory requirements, the most significant of which is submission of 500 signatures of people who pledge to purchase the plate if it’s approved.
However, clearing the statutory hurdle merely provides the Commissioner of the Bureau and the Governor the discretion to approve the plate. They declined to exercise their discretion to approve Special Olympics and POW-MIA, but decided to go ahead and approve the “Choose Life” plate.
That discretionary treatment could potentially create a wrinkle if any lawsuits are forthcoming against the “Choose Life” plate, particularly since proceeds will go to the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers, a coalition of Crisis Pregnancy Centers which, according to Laura McPhee of Nuvo, was created for the purpose of getting approval for “Choose Life” license plates.
According to the Central Indiana Crisis Center mission statement, board members, directors and volunteers “are expected to know Christ as their Savior and Lord.†CPCs are devoted to detouring women from receiving abortions and converting those women to Christianity. Though CPCs advertise counseling services and “pregnancy choices,†staff members are volunteers from area churches who receive an average of 20 hours of training “in evangelism and counseling.†There are more than 100 Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Indiana and more than 5,000 across the country.
These pregnancy centers have been criticised for deliberately misinforming women on birth control. I don’t have the cite for this one, but I read an article on a woman who went to one of these centers for help getting an abortion, only to be stalled through deception until she was out of the first trimester and abortion became more difficult to obtain.
It seems to me that there would be a greater basis for a legal challenge against the Choose Life plate and support for these sorts of centers where granting or denying such support is arbitrarily exercised by the Governor rather than being open to all comers who meet certain criteria. And the decision does seem to be largely arbitrary. When asked about his rationale as to why “Choose Life” was chosen but not, for example, Special Olympics, Governor Daniels said, “I don’t necessarily have a good reason. I can’t make a good case for the choice of one versus another.”
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No comment really, honey. But you need to get our license plates renewed at the Tippecanoe County license branch before our anniversary on Saturday. That’s when they expire.
Wow. My wife and I use IM to chat when we’re under the same roof, from living room to bedroom. I thought we were on the high edge of geek. Thanks, Amy! You gave us something to aspire to!
Anyone want to form a coalition and get “Choose Masturbation” plates approved?
bilerico has been posting about CPCs this week, and WISHtv had a story last week.
the national abortion federation released a report last month detailing all the alleged shadiness.
Yeah, we used to play gin online while we were sitting about 10 feet away from each other. Instead of, you know, pulling out a deck of cards.
Well, if I put it here then Doug’s likely to see it. Doing it? Well, that something entirely different.
Doug,
Getting back to the story at hand. I believe license plates to fund crisis pregnancy centers to be violations of the First Admendments establishment clause as soon as you look past the stated purpose of CPCs and look to what they do in practice. http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:blMYnQc-3sEJ:www.prochoice.org/pubs_research/publications/downloads/public_policy/cpc_report.pdf+crisis+pregnancy+centers+violate+establishment+clause+religion&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a
Find any instance where a CPC will consistantly, clearly, directly and acurately state to the public what their options are concerning abortion, adoption, and child wealfare without pressing a religious based argument on the necessity of carrying the pregnancy to term?? Clearly, CPCs are state sponsored welfare for the Religious Rights war on legal right to choice to have an abortion. Gov. Daniels is simply throwing a huge bone to the Religious Right.
Clearly to you, llamajockey. I know CPC workers who will argue their case without mentioning God or the Bible. You might disagree with their opinions. They have facts, and you have facts, but I can’t quite see where anyone can PROVE that giving money to CPC is the same as state sponored religion. United Way gives to Christian counseling services in this state, does that mean they are giving to the church?
I have a vague memory of the legislature voting to ban some lps a few years back because they were so rarely purchased – special interest groups up in arms about what defined “few” – did I make this up?
A couple of years ago the BMV gave IPFW a hard time when they wanted a plate – sort of a dismissive, “there can’t be that many people who’ve even ATTENDED IPFW, much less would want to buy a plate…” I have no great desire for the group plate thing but when IPFW was dissed so much, it made me sign up just on general principle.
lemming, you are not wrong. I don’t remember a ban per se, but I do remember the Speaker deciding that all new speciality license plate bills would be unceremoniously sent to the Rules committee (where bills go to die after first reading), because the Commissioner and the legislature were tired of eighty million bills every session trying to get XYZ cause represented. The BMV still has to spend money to collect the fees and adminster them, and every new group means yet another accounting and distribution has to be done. Bah, I say.
lawgeekgurl,
You make a good point. If you REALLY want to both show your support for a cause, AND give cash to them, then why not pay $50 for a bumper sticker and put everyone back on standard plates? You could even make special, more durable metal “stickers”, if the looks of a bumper sticker is what turns you off. Or, finally, you could just make an area on the plate that is legal to cover over. Put the Indiana torch on it, but keep that area there in all plates to that people could buy a plate holder that covered over it with the logo of their choice. Somewhat like the “Back Home Again” area of the bottom of the plate, but a larger logo area on the left.
And yes, that goes for getting rid of the special “I’m a state or federal Congressman, and I don’t get pulled over” plate. As if the power and money wasn’t enough.
I suppose the only plates that would be “special” would be veterans. They don’t pay extra for them, and they’ve earned it. They can keep theirs.
I don’t begrudge the veterans their special plates, but let’s just get back to one plate even for them. A license plate is just a government registration. These special plates seem a little like putting lipstick on a pig.
Jason
Clearly to you, llamajockey. I know CPC workers who will argue their case without mentioning God or the Bible. You might disagree with their opinions. They have facts, and you have facts, but I can’t quite see where anyone can PROVE that giving money to CPC is the same as state sponored religion. United Way gives to Christian counseling services in this state, does that mean they are giving to the church?
First of all the United Way is not a government agency so it is a poor example to back your argument. The United Way is Charitable clearinghouse and has alway been a creation of large business/corporate interests wishing to push a antiquated private corporate welfare model as an answer to society’s needs. The United Way does provide additional funding for organizations that qualify as providers of public services and receive Government funding based on those guidelines. Before Dubya’ faith based nonsense that meant no discrimation based on religious grounds and far less preaching.
Simply read any article on CPC’s to learn that they are nothing more than goverment subsidized evangelism.
They play an incredibly cruel trick on the desparate, uninformed and impoverished. Because CPCs provide no contraceptive, prenatal, medical, STD prevention/treatment or public health services they merit no public funding on those grounds unlike Plan Parenthood. Any thing you say as to the intent of those who claim to work at a CPC is pure anecdotal nonsense.
see: here and here. (I edited this comment to embed the previous two links since long URLs sometimes mess up the formatting of the page. — Doug)
So… a friend sent me the following link regarding a new design for an Indiana “in God We Trust” plate at NO ADDITIONAL COST? Assuming the website is valid, yikes! How do they get off not charging the base administrative fee?
http://www.main1media.com/INGODPLATE/INGODPLATE.htm
Follow up: here. (Comment edited to embed long URL.)