From Deseret News archives:

Judge OKs Utahn's 3 'gay' plates

Motor Vehicles Division has 30 days to appeal

Published: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 11:05 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
The letters may say gay, but a Park City woman says love is the only message she wanted to send with personalized license plates that read "GAYSROK," "GAYWEGO" and "GAYRYTS."

Primarily, Elizabeth "Beano" Solomon wanted to publicly state her love for her daughter, who is gay, and for two gay friends she is close to and considers her sons. She said she also wanted to show support for the many other parents, friends and other gay people who are struggling "in places that are not gay-friendly." The plates had very little, if any, political motivation, she said.

"This is about showing that I love my children," she said. "I did this for them."

However, Solomon's plates were denied by the Motor Vehicles Division of the Utah State Tax Commission, which said personalized plates are a "non-public forum" and not a place for the expression of controversial opinion. Additionally, the Motor Vehicles Division said the plates would be "offensive to good taste and decency, relate to sexual functions and express superiority of a gender," according to Utah State Tax Commission documents.

Story continues below
Solomon appealed the decision and last week the tax commission overturned it, ruling that a "reasonable person" would not find the terms "offensive to good taste." The plates also did not reference sexual functions, only a sexual preference that carries a much broader definition, and did not express the superiority of a gender since both male and female homosexuals use the term to describe themselves, according to the ruling issued by administrative law Judge Jane Phan.

The Motor Vehicles Division has 30 days to appeal the decision, at which time the commission would have a formal hearing. Motor Vehicles Division officials have not decided whether they will appeal. After a formal hearing, either party has the right to appeal the issue to state courts.

Regardless, Solomon was proud that she challenged the Motor Vehicles Division's decision, even after a compromise was offered that would have allowed her to use the "GAYWEGO" plate. Now, she is actually hoping to push the issue further by offering to make a donation of $50 to the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah for every additional gay-themed plate that people apply to have on their car.

Recent comments

another example of homosexual indoctrination!!! and hey claim they...

scott | Sept. 1, 2007 at 10:54 a.m.

previousnext

Latest comments

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy for these guys, and for EVERYONE!!! SOOOOOOOO...

Thank you for the interesting and informative article. Everyone benefits when...

Utah celebrates Real Salt Lake Day

There's tremendous parity in the MLS, during the regular season there aren't...

The initial concept of the Skins game had a certain appeal. However, to be a...

Suspicious. Well, everything maybe as you say, but just like the medical...

Ex-legislators call for ethics reform

As a Republican who strongly supports the ethics initiative, Utah GOP...

Maybe we could all meet for punch and cookies before the game?

Boys basketball rankings

For everyone talking about provo and olympus. Last year means nothing,...

Utes' Wynn in for awakening

Maybe so, but we can still beat BYU, who is beyond dwindled.

Ben, She didn't write the book, someone wrote it for her. Obama is...

Advertisements