Court ruling removes obstacles for pro-life license plates

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday wiped out the last legal hurdle for anti-abortion groups to get their own special state license plates.
 
Without comment, the high court upheld a unanimous decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which concluded that the state License Plate Commission illegally denied the request by Arizona Life Coalition to issue a plate with the message "Choose Life.'' The judges concluded in January that commission members rejected the message solely because of its content, something that violates the proponents' First Amendment rights.
 
Monday's decision has implications beyond this specific case. In its ruling earlier this year, the 9th Circuit concluded the commission impermissibly rejected the request solely because of the controversial nature of the message. That, in turn, now opens the door for other groups to demand their own plates -- with their own messages.
 
The idea behind the special plates is both publicity and financial.
 
Those who purchase the plates pay an extra $25 every year above standard registration fees. Of that, $17 goes to the sponsoring group.
 
The more common method of getting these plates has been for groups to go directly to the Legislature. Lawmakers have approved a series of these plates over the years, ranging from those for each of the three universities to environmental education, pet neutering and child abuse.
 
But lawmakers, in an effort to de-politicize the process, also set up the separate License Plate Commission to review other requests from non-profit agencies. That panel has approved eight special plates for groups as diverse as firefighters to the Arizona Historical Society.
 
In this case, the Arizona Life Coalition submitted a proposal in 2002 with a design featuring two children on the left side of the plate and the phrase "Choose Life'' along the bottom - where regular plates now proclaim "The Grand Canyon State.'' After two meetings it was rejected.
 
Commissioner Lela Steffey, who opposed the request, said she did not believe state-issued license plates should be carrying such messages. Steffey, a former state legislator from Mesa who is against abortions, said those kinds of sentiments belong instead on bumper stickers.
 
But appellate Judge Richard Tallman, writing the 9th Circuit ruling, said once the Legislature empowered the commission to issue special license plates, that panel was not free to decide which were acceptable. He said giving government officials "unbridled discretion in regulating speech'' creates "potential constitutional problems.''
 
Peter Gentala, attorney for the Center for Arizona Policy, one of the coalition members, said the $17 from each plate will be used to promote both an anti-abortion message and help finance adoptions.
 
Gentala said that, despite Monday's ruling, some limits remain on which groups can get special state-issued plates.
 
The law limits the ability to get special plates to organizations which serve the community and contribute to the welfare of others. Special plates also are prohibited to any group which is "offensive or discriminatory in its purpose, nature, activity or name.''
 
And he said a key test is whether a group with an opposing viewpoint could get its own license plate.
 
But a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Arizona said that organization has no interest in getting its own plate.
 
How quickly the new plates would be available remains unclear, particularly as the commission has not met in years. But Gentala said he expects quick action, saying each day of delay becomes a new infringement on the free-speech rights of coalition members.
 
Cydney DeModica, spokeswoman for the state Motor Vehicle Division, said plates authorized by the commission are available for sale only to members of sponsoring organizations, as would be the case for these plates.
 
She also said state law requires any sponsoring organization to submit at least 200 applications for the plate and the $25 annual fee before it can be issued. Gentala said the groups in the coalition, including the Center for Arizona Policy, Arizona Right to Life, the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Arizona, should have no problem meeting that goal.