Groups sue over "Choose Life" plate - 11/7/2003

By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

Calling the state's sponsorship of "Choose Life" license plates unconstitutional, the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed a lawsuit yesterday to stop the state from sponsoring the anti-abortion specialty tags.

By not offering a license plate with an opposing, pro-choice view, the state has violated the free speech rights of those who support a woman's ability to obtain an abortion, ACLU and Planned Parenthood representatives said yesterday in a news conference.

"The license plates are a public forum, and the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and open access to a public forum," said George Barrett, an ACLU attorney. "The state cannot select which ones are heard without eroding the basic principles of free speech."

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Supporters of the "Choose Life" plates said they believe that the ACLU and Planned Parenthood are more concerned with promoting their pro-choice views than protecting free speech.

Sponsors of the law that created the tags, Rep. Glen Casada and Sen. Jim Bryson, also said that the state already sponsors specialty plates for organizations with political agendas, such as the National Rifle Association and the NAACP.

"There are lots of plates that have political overtones, and they allow people to express the way they feel," Bryson said. "I think this lawsuit is a way for the ACLU to promote their pro-choice agenda, and it's not about free speech."

The lawsuit was filed against Gov. Phil Bredesen and state Commissioner of Safety Fred Phillips.

Bredesen, however, has expressed deep concerns about the state's sponsorship of license plates with political messages, said his spokeswoman, Lydia Lenker.

The governor allowed the legislation creating the license plate to become law on June 17, but without his signature. An amendment to the legislation that would have created a pro-choice plate was tabled.

In a letter to the speakers of the House and Senate, Bredesen directed the General Assembly to establish a joint committee to review the state's policy of allowing license plates to be used to benefit private organizations or to express political views. That committee has been appointed but has not yet met.

"I am very concerned that we are venturing onto a slippery slope by starting to place political messages onto license plates, an official instrument of the state," Bredesen wrote to the speakers. "We are getting into constitutionally suspect territory and need to take a fresh look at this whole issue."

Since the first specialty plate was created in 1994 — an environmental state park plate adorned with an iris — the state has sponsored more than 100 specialty plates, said Beth Denton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Safety.

Denton said Phillips, the safety commissioner, was aware of the lawsuit but was continuing to follow the guidelines of the state legislature.

Under the law, Tennessee Right to Life, the organization that supported the "Choose Life" plate, has until June 2004 to sell the plates for an annual fee of $35 to 1,000 people.

In response to the lawsuit, the executive director of Tennessee Right to Life, Brian Harris, said that Tennessee is a pro-life state and that it is legal for citizens to express their views in any public forum.

Harris also heads New Life Resources, an agency that helps pregnant women in crisis, and has been designated to receive the proceeds raised by the "Choose Life" specialty plates. The agency is required to use at least 35% of the money for advertising campaigns promoting adoption and 35% for services related to adoption, parenting skills and abstinence.