"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Court says states cannot prohibit 'Choose Life'

Advocates for the unborn in Arizona are celebrating a court opinion that concluded the state was not allowed to censor a "Choose Life" message from a program that allows special interest groups to obtain license plates with their slogans, an issue that has been resolved similarly in other states.The ruling comes from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case argued by the Alliance Defense Fund."Pro-life advocates shouldn't be discriminated against for their beliefs," ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer said. "Today's decision from the 9th Circuit reinforces that if the state opens the door for expression by a class of speakers, it may not then slam the door on those whose messages it prefers be kept from public view."At issue was a request by the Arizona Life Coalition to a state program that allows specialty license plates featuring various slogans. The coalition, a group with 100,000 members, applied in 2002 for a specialty license plate with the "Choose Life" slogan.The Arizona License Plate Commission then denied the request, even though specialty plates were granted to other nonprofits such as the University of Phoenix Alumni Network, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Wildlife Conservation Council.In 2003, the Alliance Defense Fund, working with the Center for Arizona Policy, filed a lawsuit over the issue."By denying Life Coalition's application...the Commission ignored its statutory mandate and acted unreasonably in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," the 9th Circuit ruling said."The government may not arbitrarily exclude pro-life viewpoints from forums opened to just this sort of public discourse," Shafer said. "It is our hope that this victory will have a positive impact on similar cases under way nationwide."The court ruling found that Arizona law states the commission,"Shall authorize a special organization plate if the organization meets three requirements."Those include that the organization must serve the community, the group's name does not promote any specific product or brand name and that the organization does not promote a specific religion or anti-religious viewpoint."We recognize that Arizona has a legitimate interest in regulating controversial material displayed publicly on government property," the court ruling said. "Nevertheless, we are mindful of potential constitutional problems when government officials are given unbridled discretion in regulating speech, even in limited public fora."The court said Arizona has defined the outer limits of its specialty license plate program, "and Life Coalition fits within those statutory boundaries.""Because abortion-related speech falls within the boundaries of Arizona's limited public forum, and because the Commission clearly denied the application based on the nature of the message, we conclude the Commission's actions were viewpoint discriminatory," the court said.The Alliance Defense Fund just days earlier had won a similar contest in Missouri, where a federal court judge concluded that state's outline for the approval process for specialty plates was unconstitutional.That decision ordered Missouri to issue the "Choose Life" license plate, concluding the Department of Revenue officials who approve or reject applications had too much discretion."The statute does not provide the Joint Committee with specific standards or guidelines upon which to base their decisions and no explanation is required for a denial of one's application," said Judge Scott O. Wright in that case. "As a result, [the law] is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad."There, the "Choose Life" slogan was rejected while slogans for an autism foundation, a conservancy group, a cattlemen's foundation and a military support group all were approved.Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, said the newest ruling from the 9th Circuit is a victory for free speech."That the Arizona License Plate Commission tried to censor pro-lifers while allowing other groups to have license plates was clearly discriminatory," he said. "It's reassuring that a federal court has declared that pro-lifers have the same First Amendment rights as everyone else."Priests for Life has vigorously promoted Choose Life license plates and urges pastors to work with their people and their state legislators to adopt them," he said.

As in the days of Noah....