This is a story near and dear to me. I used to have a custom plate in Florida. Mine said "SPATULA". Fortunately for me, nobody ever decided that SPATULA was offensive. Sadly, SPATULA is not available in California.

Steven Miles has a custom Florida plate. Unlike mine, though, his is not on his living room wall, but instead is attached to his car. Poor Miles still lives in the third-most-backward state in the US (behind Alabama and Mississippi). It isn't going to be on his car much longer, though, because the DMV has decided his plate is offensive and is demanding its return.

What does the offensive plate say? PENIS69? VAGINA? SUCKPOO? FUCKLAMB? Worse than that. It says ATHEIST.

Yep, that's the offensive or obscene word on Miles's plate. ATHEIST. ATHEIST, ATHEIST, ATHEIST. Miles is the vice-president of the Atheists of Florida organization, so it is a natural plate for him to have. The DMV decided to review his plate after receiving a complaint signed by 10 people, presumably non-atheists.

It isn't the first time Miles has been attacked in one form or another by loving religious people over his license plate. He's had a wrench thrown at him and his license plate torn off his car and mangled. Probably some Southern Baptist Christians overflowing with love.

Fortunately, Miles has contacted the ACLU and does have his supporters. For someone to have an avenue of free expression taken away by the government just because a few people didn't like what he had to say is a dangerous thing about which we should all be concerned.

---Nick

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