'Commie' Plate Denied, Norman Man Asks For Hearing

<p>A Norman man, along with the American Civil Liberties Union &ndash; Oklahoma, is requesting a hearing with a judge after his request to have a vanity plate which read &ldquo;Commie&rdquo; was denied.</p>

Friday, September 9th 2016, 9:52 pm

By: Grant Hermes


A Norman man, along with the American Civil Liberties Union – Oklahoma, is requesting a hearing with a judge after his request to have a vanity plate which read “Commie” was denied.

According to the ACLU, Luttrell was denied his plate because the Oklahoma Tax Commission said it violated rules saying license plates can't show “contempt, ridicule or superiority” of someone's race, religion, gender, ethnic heritage or politics.

Luttrell previously agreed to an interview, but then changed his mind.

"As an anarchist-communist, it is easy to see how my beliefs might run contrary to government view; one must look beyond my personal convictions, however, to see how this case affects every single one of us,” he said in a statement. “Once the government is allowed to judge what sort of speech it deems acceptable and censor the rest, the notion of free speech becomes hollow, utterly without meaning.”

Which is exactly what the ACLU thought too. The organization is alleging the tax commission's rules are non-descript and saying they violate the first amendment.

“We think that there are some very serious free speech issues here,” ACLU-OK Allie Shinn said.

It’s also not the first time the group has come to the defense of someone denied a vanity plate. Both in 2015 and 2010 branches of the group helped mount challenges to plates that read “IMGAY” and “LGBTALY.”

A Commission spokesperson said today in a statement, "Once we deny someone, we always give them a chance for a hearing to explain their case."

A hearing the ACLU and Luttrell plan to attend because they say their fight is for all Oklahomans.

“Whether or not you agree with his message of commie, Oklahomans should have the right to express themselves. And they should have the right to express themselves politically whether their values are politically popular or not,” Shinn said.

The Shinn added ACLU-OK is cautiously optimistic given the commission's history of allowing plates to go through once they're challenged. So far no date has been set for a hearing.

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