Gov. Bob Taft yesterday signed a bill that would allow Ohioans to buy Choose Life license plates -plates that have been struck down in federal court as an infringement of free speech.
Taft's spokesman Mark Rickel said he was not sure how the bill would be received or if it would undergo legal challenges.
If there are (challenges)
you let the courts settle them Rickel said. (The law) will work itself through the courts.
Carrie Davis, a staff attorney for the Ohio ACLU, said the bill would not likely stand in court, and the group would probably pursue legal action.
Not a single court in the country has said the license plates have constitutional muster... the precedent at this point says they can't do it she said. There's a very real likelihood the ACLU will sue.
The plates have come before federal courts twice before. In South Carolina, the plates were struck down because an alternative, pro-choice plate was not available. And in Louisiana, the plates were allowed only because the group challenging was found ineligible to sue.
Fred Stratmann, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said the plates would cost $30 each, with $10 going to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the remaining $20 going to a Choose Life Fund created by the bill.
According to the bill's language, money in the fund would then be accessible only to private, non-profit groups supporting adoption and with no ties to abortion. Ties are defined as counseling patients about abortion, referring them to abortion providers, performing abortion-related procedures or displaying pro-abortion advertising.
Russ Amerling is a spokesman for the Ocala, Fla.-based Choose Life Inc., the group that started the nationwide push for the plates. He said Ohio is the 14th state to approve them. The plates can be purchased in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma. The plates have also been approved in Tennessee, but an ongoing lawsuit could block their distribution.
Davis said Ohio would be engaging in viewpoint discrimination by allowing only one side of a debate to be heard.
When the state creates a specialty license plate that has a political message
the state has created a limited public forum
she said. Once they open up the forum
it has to be open to everybody.
Beth Sidel, president of the Ohio Choose Life campaign, said the plates support adoption and do not take away a woman's right to choose.
This is not taking away a woman's right to choose
she said. This is offering another avenue of hope for her.
Sidel, who herself is adopted, said the bill would help organizations promote adoption. This will help them to extend their ministries in reaching out to women
she said.
Ohio Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, said the license plates send a clear message
and if anyone wanted to have a license plate with the opposite view, they could petition a legislator and have legislation introduced.
Rep. Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, sponsored the bill in the House and said he supported the plates because they raise money for adoption.
The proceeds will be used to promote adoption
he said, which is a great part of our culture. The primary purpose (of the bill) is promoting adoption.
Hoops echoed Padgett's sentiment that another group could pass similar legislation if they raised enough support, but said he would not vote for the bill.
No
I wouldn't support that
