The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression - a U.S. free-speech advocacy group - gave their annual "muzzle" awards to free speech violators last week.  At the top of the list of award recipients was the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for attempting to recall a "GETOSAMA" license plate issued to a retired New York police officer. 

The New York DMV called the license plate "lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group, or patently offensive" in its recall.  In the end, the officer was allowed to keep the plate as part of a first amendment lawsuit settlement against the state. 

In case you missed the originial story when we covered it back in , we've reprinted it for you below.

NY DMV Recalls "Get Osama" License Plates
by Andrew B. Einhorn Nov 20 2007, 05:27 PM

 
Arno Herwerth, a retired New York Police Department sergeant, ordered personalized "GetOsama" license plates from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to make his thoughts about the terrorist known.  The plates arrived and a short time later, Arno received a letter in the mail from the Long Island DMV recalling the license plates.  But what had Arno done wrong?

According to CBS News 2 HD, The letter from the DMV stated that they "prohibit the issuance of any license plate combination that is, in the discretion of the commissioner, obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group or patently offensive.'"

Arno told CBS News 2 HD he's been the victim of government censureship and he's right.  According to the DMV's own policy statement, there's nothing wrong with the license plate.  Osama does not constitute an ethnic group; he's an individual, and a murdering one at that. Making a statement that a mass murderer should be brought to justice is hardly the same as placing racial slurs on your tags. As for obscene, lewd, lascivious, or derogatory, it's difficult to see how the word "get" could fit those descriptions.  It's ambiguous at best, although Americans can likely derive the meaning from Bin Laden's iconic symbolism as an international terrorist.  And if they didn't get the license plate's meaning, they'd just have to read Arno's rear "Kill Osama" windshield message (there's one on the side window too).  Will the DMV try to force him into cleaning his car next? 

It's unfortunately the folks at the New York DMV couldn't focus on a more worthy application of their working hours; like making sure New Yorkers didn't have to spend so much of their working hours in line at the DMV.