Published December 8, 2010 at 9:14 a.m.
On April 20, 2004, Vermonter Shawn Byrne applied for the license plate “JN36TN,” a thinly veiled reference to the Bible verse John 3:16. According to court records, the Department of Motor Vehicles denied Byrne’s request on the grounds that it violated Vermont’s ban on personalized, or “vanity,” plates that refer to deities or religions. By law, messages must “avoid disruption and distraction of drivers through controversial plates,” as well as “the perception that the government favors certain ideas.”
Byrne challenged the state’s decision in U.S. District Court, and lost. But in October, the U.S. Court of Appeals, in Byrne v. Rutledge, reversed the lower court’s decision and ruled in Byrne’s favor. It deemed that “Vermont’s ban on all religious messages in a forum it has otherwise broadly opened to a wide variety of subjects, including personal philosophy, affiliation and belief, serves not to restrict but instead to discriminate … and, as such, is impermissible.”
While upholding Byrne’s right of free speech, the second circuit court judges didn’t go so far as to strike down the state’s ban on all controversial messages, including any that are vulgar, derogatory or obscene, or connote illicit drug use.
Interestingly, what’s OK to drivers on the right — NRA, LUVGUNS, G0P, PR0NUKE — still might be considered “controversial” to drivers on the left — CH0ICE, DM0CRAT, LEFTIST, LESSOIL, TREHUGR. And vice versa. All of these, by the way, can be seen on current Vermont plates.
Moreover, words and their meanings change over time. It used to be that getting a “hummer” in a public parking lot could get you arrested. Today, a Hummer just pisses off the drivers with the LESSC02 and PEAK0IL plates.
Which begs the question: What else has slipped by the DMV’s censors? A review of the state’s 35,860 vanity plates (as of September 3) turned up other phrases that might raise eyebrows — and not just spiritual references such as KRISHNA, MUHAMAD, LTADAYS, PRAY, PSALM24, PSALM46, SHAKTI and 0HHMM.
Dirty drivers?
BANG
BANGK0K
BANGMEUP
BANGS
BEAVIN
BIGENUF
BIGSEXY
B0NE
B0NEMAN
B0NES
B00F
BUGGER
BUTZ
BVR
CLAM
CLIMAX
CLT
CMN
CREAMEE
C00CH
C00TCH
DICKSTR
DICK8
DKHUNTR
D0NG
DUKIE
EJAG
FINGER
FK
FRISKME
GET0FF
GETS0ME
GETW00D
GIGGY
GIVRSUM
HARD
HEINEY
H00HAA
H00KER
H00KNUP
H0TR0CZ
HVNW00D
INDEEP
INHIM
INN0UT
L0VEGUN
LVMYB0X
MEAT
M00SEX
MRSBJ
MYTHANG
NASTY1
NGTYGRL
NIBBLER
PANSIES
PANT
P0KE
P00T
PUMPIT
QUIM
RAMIT
RAMNIT
RIDEHRD
RIDEME
RDEHRD
SHAG
SPANKS
SWEAT
TANG
T0PLESS
TR0JAN
TRYST
VIAGRA
VIBR8TR
WH0HA
WH0HAAA
WILLY
W00DY
W00DYK
W00DYS
WTF
YANKME
2BIG4U
69PLYRR
Impaired drivers?
BAKE
BAKED2
BERN
BLAZIN
BRND0UT
BURN1
BUZZZZZ
BY0B
C0KE
EXHALE
FATTY
GRAM2G0
GREATWD
HERB
LITEMUP
LTEMUP
PHATTY
PILLS
PIPE
PIPES
PUFF
PUFFER
REDPILL
SMOKEM
SMOKIN
TRIP
TRIPS
UBURN2
WEED
1GRAM
While we’re at it, here are a few that, while neither controversial nor obscene, make you wonder why anyone would want to advertise the message:
BURN0UT
DETH
DETHWGN
DIRTBAG
DRTBAG
DTHTRAP
FATB0Y
FATGRL
FLAKE
FLTLNDR
FUGITIV
GARBAGE
GASH0G
GERMS
G00BER
HAG
HAZARD
HAZZARD
HICK
H8FUL
IBAD
IBADDER
ILLEGAL
INDEBT
ITCHY
JDGMNTL
LAXDAD
LAXREF
LETHAL
L00NBAT
L0WLIFE
MEAN
MEANIE
MEANM0M
N0TAC0P
N0TPD4
PINHEAD
PUREVIL
PYR0
REP0MAN
RDKILL
ST0LEN
THUG
TRASHY
WANTED
2FATT
6SIX6
Questionable states of mind?
ADRIFT
AIMLESS
ASLEEP
BLASTED
BLKN0UT
B0NKERS
CRUEL
CYC0TIC
DAZED
DIZZY
DREAMN
FLSHBCK
HAMMERD
IMHYPER
INAF0G
INSANE
INXTCY
KRAZY
NRV0US
TRANCE
UNGLUED
WARPED
ST0LEN
BLASTED
BLKN0UT
B0NKERS
HAMMERD
BANGMEUP
BIGSEXY
CLIMAX
CREAMEE
FATTY
GRAM2G0
C0KE
PILLS
PHATTY
IMHYPER
INAF0G
INSANE
INXTCY
BURN0UT
DIRTBAG
FATGRL
FLTLNDR
FUGITIV
GASH0G
HICK
H8FUL
IBAD
IBADDER
ILLEGAL
INDEBT
JDGMNTL
THUG
ASLEEP
C00TCH
D0NG
FRISKME
GET0FF
H00HAA
H00KER
INN0UT
L0VEGUN
M00SEX
PANSIES
RAMNIT
WARPED
LETHAL
L0WLIFE
MEANM0M
N0TAC0P
N0TPD4
RIDEME
RDEHRD
SHAG
T0PLESS
TRYST
VIAGRA
VIBR8TR
WH0HA
WTF
YANKME
BAKE
BLAZIN
BRND0UT
BY0B
SMOKIN
TRIPS
M00SEX
WEED
1GRAM
TRASHY
WANTED
Click through this slideshow to see some of the eyebrow-raising vanity plates that the Vermont DMV has authorized. For the full list, scroll to the bottom of the story.
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