IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As of February 15, 2010, the
"Choose Life" license plate has been approved in 25 states: Alabama,
Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia. Since the year 2000 when the
"Choose Life" plate was first approved in Florida, over 500,000 plates
have been purchased and renewed nationwide raising over $11 million for
hundreds of pregnancy care centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies
and safe haven efforts that provide the financial resources and moral
support that desperate women so often need in order to courageously
choose life and consider adoption for an unwanted pregnancy or an
unwanted newborn.
The "Choose Life"
license plate is a wonderful way to publicly promote and support life
and adoption. Please visit www.Choose-Life.org and click on "Other
States" to order a "Choose Life" plate or to get involved in this
important national effort in your own state.
THE FIGHT FOR THE "CHOOSE LIFE" PLATE
IN NEW JERSEY
Motorists in New Jersey can choose from over 40 different organizational license plates that have been approved for qualified non-profit community, alumni or service organizations. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has administratively approved dozens of organizational plates for highly diverse
organizations that include political labor unions like the Teamsters; religious organizations
like the Knights of Columbus; controversial organizations like the Masons; and even social and sport clubs like Square Dancers and Bowhunters. Since 2003, however,
The Children First Foundation's organizational plate has been blocked by the MVC because its corporate logo and domain name include the words "Choose Life."
In January of 2003, The
Children First Foundation (CFF) submitted its application for an
organizational license plate in New Jersey. After initial approval, the MVC subsequently reversed its decision and rejected CFF's
plate (pictured above), claiming that the words "Choose Life" were "controversial" and "political." According to a press release by lawyers of the Alliance Defense Fund representing CFF, the officials later attempted to amend their censorship justification by saying that the plate was rejected because it contained “advocacy.” But as the lawsuit points out, the New Jersey special plate program was designed for advocacy, and the NJMVC had already approved several specialty plates for other organizations with advocacy messages on them.
In May of 2004, Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against former NJMVC Chief Administrator Diane Legreide for violating the foundation’s First Amendment rights through viewpoint discrimination. “A pro-adoption organization shouldn’t be censored just because certain
government officials don’t share its viewpoint,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer. “This is
private speech, not government speech. State officials step into
unconstitutional territory when they reject specialty plate messages
that depart from their own viewpoint preferences.”
THE NJ "CHOOSE LIFE" PLATE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
New Jersey
politicians and MVC officials must defend the civil liberties of all citizens of New Jersey, not just those they personally or politically favor.
It is CFF's sincere
hope, fervent prayer and heartfelt plea that thousands of Americans in
all fifty states, especially in New Jersey, will help us win this
important civil rights battle by signing this online "National Petition
for the Approval of the New Jersey 'Choose Life' License Plate" and by
using the amazing power of the internet and blogs to reach as many
concerned citizens as possible.
To sign our petition, please click here. You
can also help by e-mailing a link for this page to your family,
friends and colleagues. Signers must be 18 years of age or older.
In the words of Randy
Harris, the Founder and President of Choose Life, Inc. in Ocala,
Florida, "It would all be worth it if just one woman chose to give her
child life and place him or her with a loving adoptive couple."
Thank you for supporting the approval of the "Choose Life" License Plate in New Jersey.
For further information and
detailed history, please see these press releases and other documents
from the Alliance Defense Fund linked below:
