Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/08/30/woman-wins-her-fight-with-new.html
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There used to be a maroon van with almost this same license plate (theirs was “PB4UGO”) that would drop off their kids at my elementary school growing up in neighboring Maine. I wonder if there’s any relation. I think of that license plate every time we take our kids to the bathroom before going out. Good on her for fighting. Live Free or Die, indeed.
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That license plate is not an offense to public morals. It’s a public service announcement.
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Power corrupts. Even a teensy, teensy little bit of power.
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That’s not “offensive,” it’s useful advice.
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So has the Governor of New Hampshire become a hereditary position?
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My mistake – I thought the second John Sununu also had been governor. So I guess there’s room for more Sununus.
I really don’t get this kind of law; they’re entirely too strict. I can see prohibiting “FUCKYOU2” but this one is so harmless. But I guess the only people who want censoring jobs are prudes.
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Appearantly “community standards” dont always shift in a more liberal direction. Who knew?
“FUCKYOU2” is also harmless.
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Hmm. Offensive plates in ROT13.
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Well… considering that obstructed ureters or urethra can cause severe acute renal disease, yep, pee freely or die.
she’s just offering sound medical advice.
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I hate this story.
The plate’s owner should have won/lost her case based on the merits of the plate and the relevant statute. Oh, a mutual friend is the governor? Case closed.
Different rules for different folks.
FWIW, New Hampshire is kind of an interesting place, plate-wise.
There was a huge battle over a “COPS LIE” plate (which led to extra vanity plate scrutiny a few years ago - I’ve got a plate which contains “FU” … I would not have received it under the new standard).
Also in New Hampshire, a battle over a social worker (I think?) who had a H8DCFS plate.
Also in New Hampshire, a Jehovah’s Witness who won the right to cover over “Live Free or Die” with duct tape.
Lots of interesting cases here.
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My reading of the story is that the governor didn’t know the woman before the case got publicity on facebook. So the governor used his influence to plead her case to the DMV because he thought her position had merit, not because she was a personal friend.
The DMV’s guidelines weren’t dictated by “statute.” Nobody ever passed a law saying it was obscene to reference peeing before a road trip.
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And if this vanity plate appears?
“N0NUNU”
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You have to admire the intellectual consistency and refusal to descend into smarm of a license plate issuer that prints “Live Free or Die” on each one; but is still willing to stand up for a nebulous and flexible conception of ‘good taste’ and protect it from offense.
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I said “mutual”, not personal. From the CNN article on this topic:
After hearing about Auger’s situation from a mutual friend, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu got involved.
Perhaps not directly by statute, but those policies are new, having been revised after a state supreme court battle a few years ago. They’re certainly a matter of law.
Anyone can put a public post on facebook. It doesn’t mean that she had any particularly close connections with the governor. New Hampshire only has 1.3 million people in the whole damn State.
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