New Jersey's Motor Vehicles Commission has bowed out of a seven-year legal battle and is quietly offering license plates with the slogan "Choose Life."
The plates are available through the Children First Foundation, which first tried to get them approved in 2003.
State officials initially rejected the plates, saying they didn't want to get into a debate over abortion. The state also said it doesn't allow slogans, just the names of the organizations on the plates.
The Children First Foundation fought the decision in court.
New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission spokesman Mike Horan says the state decided to allow the plates to avoid further legal expenses. They went on sale Dec. 3, and none have been sold.I went to the NJ MVC web site and found one reason why they are not selling - they are not listed as a choice, despite the article's claim. In order to actually get a plate in NJ you have to go to the organization's web site, fund-adoption.org, and click on a special link to have a special form mailed to you to request the plate. Now, I'm not a big believer in specialty plates - why pay the state $50 to have them donate $10 to my organization when I can give the organization $45 and spend $5 on a bumper sticker with the name and logo of the organization on it. Still, it's the principle of the thing.
Let's go over the state's arguments one by one.
- State officials initially rejected the plates, saying they didn't want to get into a debate over abortion.
The license plate doesn't talk about abortion - it promotes adoption. Yes, the organization's slogan is "choose life" but to imply that this is only applicable to abortion is ridiculous. Other uses of the slogan, from Wikipedia:
"Choose life" is a phrase which has been used in a variety of ways:
And just in case there is a misunderstanding, the URL of the organization is right below its logo on the plate "fund-adoption.org".
Religion
- In a Bible verse, Deuteronomy 30:19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."
- Choose Life (film), a 1999 film starring Peter Dobson
- The title of a poem by John Hodge which begins the film Trainspotting
- Choose Life (album), a 1983 album by Sandie Shaw
- Printed on t-shirts designed by Katharine Hamnett worn by Wham! in the 1984 video for "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" and by Roger Taylor in the 1984 video for Hammer to Fall
- Choose Life is the name of an anti-suicide themed song by the ska band Pilfers
- "Choose Life" is also the name of a song by the Christian band Big Tent Revival
- Choose Life, a song by Tzant under the name of PF Project featuring Ewan McGregor
- Choose Life is the national 10-year strategy and action plan to prevent and reduce suicide in Scotland. The strategy has used many techniques to promote their message, including appearing on the shirt of SPL football club Motherwell for their 2010–11 UEFA Europa League campaign.
- The state also said it doesn't allow slogans, just the names of the organizations on the plates.
This is clearly a lie. Here are some slogans on current NJ state license plates.
Organ Donors Save Lives 
Animal Friendly 
Treasure Our Trees 
Conserve Wildlife
What really incenses me is that it is so controversial to have a license plate that promotes adopting human babies that the state of NJ (using my tax dollars) has to fight for seven years to try to stop it, yet promoting the adoption of animals is perfectly acceptable like this plate, from Maine, or Colorado's "Adopt a Shelter Pet" plate.
What a screwed up society we live in, where we laud organizations that promote adoption of animals, but viciously attack organizations that promote adoption of humans.
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