It looks like this is going to be one of those topics that I have to revisit every couple of years or so. In 2018, Ethics Alarms challenged the ethics of a state denying permission for drivers to have whatever vanity plates on their cars that their egos, senses of humor, or general sophomorishness dictated. Then I wrote,

“Utah, for examples, bans vanity plates with profanity, “derogatory language,”  drug references,  sex talk, references to bodily functions, “hate speech,” targeting a particular group, or advocating violence advocates, as well as alcohol references and the number combo “69.” Ethics verdict: None of their business. These are words and numbers, and the state is declaring content and intent impermissible. When I see a car with an obnoxious vanity plate, I’m grateful. This is useful information. Racist or vulgar plates translate into ‘I am an asshole, and want you to know it!'”

The issue came up again in 2022. Illinois, in its infinite wisdom, had banned plates reading HATER, COVID, BYOB, and, perhaps on the theory that it meant “drooling basket case,” BIDEN. This time, it is that bastion of free speech repression (one way or another), California, that has decided certain combinations of numbers and letters should be censored as too painful for human beings to bear. The plate was issued and read LOLOCT7. I’ll give you a minute to figure out what the alleged offense was…

Got it? California Department of Motor Vehicles grovelled an apology for letting that one slip through, writing, “This is unacceptable and disturbing. The DMV is taking swift action to recall these shocking plates. We sincerely apologize that these personalized plates were not properly rejected during our review process. The use of hateful language is not only a clear violation of our policies but also a violation of our core values to proudly serve the public.”

I’m guessing a single hypersensitive censorious jerk blew the whistle on an innocent plate that a Filipino family came up with using the Tagalog word for grandfather (“Lolo”) with “CT” for cybertruck (it’s a Tesla) and “7” to signify how many grandchildren Grandpa had. But Californi Caren thought the message was “Laugh Out Loud” (LOL) “October 7” (OCT7), either mocking the terrorist attack on that date last year, or, conceivably, the opposite, mocking the devastation of Gaza that the attack by Hamas triggered in response. This “offensive message” verdict is particularly strange, as it is potentially offensive to two diametrically opposed groups when the intent was apparently to celebrate a family’s patriarch….but that’s California for you.

Constitutional scholar and law prof Eugene Volokh has posted twice on the issue of whether the state censoring speech on license plates is unconstitutional, here (re: “QUEER”) and here (the plate read “FCANCER”] It’s also trivial, a slippery slope, and, as the California case vividly demonstrates, stupid.