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Follow-up on the First Amendment license plate case

Last week, I discussed how North Carolina's "Choose Life" license plate program was designed in a way that ran afoul of the First Amendment.

Pro-choice politicians in other states with pro-life license plate programs are going to use the court decision as a platform to challenge their own state programs. A legislator in Georgia is on the case already.

Defenders of the pro-life-but-not-pro-choice-plate programs will try to distinguish their policies from North Carolina's, but I am skeptical. The key would be to argue that their program, unlike North Carolina's, does not discriminate within a government-created public forum (license plates) where 'private' speech takes place, but instead is a direct expression of a government viewpoint.

If other courts issue rulings that uphold other state programs, the issue is likely to end up at the United States Supreme Court.

Links:

 Article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle (December 12, 2012): Georgia lawmaker may seek "Pro-Choice" license plate following NC decision

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