Think that cops tend to be less than truthful and want to share that belief on a vanity license plate so you can inevitably be pulled over more often? Now you can if you live in New Hampshire, as the state Supreme Court ruled that the DMV must allow a license plate that reads “COPSLIE.”
The request for the COPSLIE license plate came from a New Hampshire man formerly known as David Montenegro. Montenegro, who now goes by “human” after legally changing his name in 2012, submitted a request for the COPSLIE license plate to the New Hampshire DMV in 2010. Human was denied the vanity plate after someone with the DMV decided that the license plate was “insulting.” Interestingly enough, human was approved for a license plate that reads “GR8GOVT,” but he decided to get a regular plate instead.
Not one to allow the DMV to stand in his way of letting everyone on the road know that he believes cops are liars, human pursued the issue, and the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on his behalf arguing that the refusal violated human’s right to free speech. Four years after initially requesting the “COPSLIE” license plate, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in human’s favor on Wednesday.
“The restriction grants DMV officials the power to deny a proposed vanity registration plate because it offends particular officials’ subjective idea of what is ‘good taste,’” the court wrote.
NH court rules man’s license plate can read ‘COPSLIE’ #newslocker http://t.co/dM0qSUqj7X pic.twitter.com/bnsCr1ZXRE
— Newslocker Nevada (@NewsNevada_) May 7, 2014
Even though it’s always nice to see someone’s constitutional rights be upheld, it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to make himself a target on the highway. As you can see from the tweets below, others are puzzled over why someone would want a COPSLIE license plate, too.
It seems to me that if you dont want to be harrassed by the police, you would have the sense not to get a license plate that reads COPS LIE
— Karen Feldman (@UnseelieMe) May 7, 2014
Whomever is getting the "COPSLIE" license plate should never let tags expire or go over speed limit. #ijs
— princss6 (@princss6) May 7, 2014
The COPSLIE license plate isn’t the only vanity plate to make the news lately. Just last month, a woman in New Jersey filed a lawsuit after the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) refused her request for a vanity plate that reads “8THEIST.” The MVC approved Christian-themed license plates, but said the 8THEIST plate was “objectionable.”
Image via YouTube