The Tennessee Department of Safety makes available more than 90 specialty plates to display the auto registration number. Themes include sports, military, clubs, colleges, political agendas, and more. When you register your vehicle, you can pay extra money to show your support for wildlife or your disdain for drunk drivers. You can proclaim your veteran status or your alma mater.
In many cases a portion of the extra fee is given to the particular group that the insignia represents. The state gets part of the money from the extra fee. If the money actually helps worthwhile causes, or helps to hold taxes down then they might be a good thing. Conversely, the specialty plates have evolved into portable billboards that should not be used to represent conformance with vehicle registration requirements.
As Mr. Hill pointed out, opinions can be presented on the back of a vehicle with bumper stickers or license plate frames. The entire vehicle can be wrapped with graphics if the driver really wants to make a bold statement. LED signs are available to place in a rear window for a truly personal message. It should not be necessary for the state to be involved in personal viewpoints by making a plethora of license plate styles.
On the other side of the coin, maybe the state should expand the number of specialty plates available. Both "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Death" plates should be available for those with strong feelings about abortion. The assortment of Veterans plates could be counterbalanced with "War Protestor" tags. How about: "Nuke The Whales;" "Support Unplanned Parenthood;" "Brushy Mountain Graduate;" "Avid Carnivore;" "Dope Dealer;" "KKK Member,: or "Idiot" tags?
Our vehicles are an extension of our personalities. Printed matter on them will tell a viewer a lot about the driver. Specialty tags may express a true devotion to the cause expressed on them. Or, they may say that the driver wanted to be an individual, just like everyone else. Possibly the car owner just had several extra dollars lying around to spend on the tag. Bumper stickers, or the lack of them, can do even more to help categorize the driver. You're unlikely to see both "PETA" and "NRA" stickers on the same vehicle. I could be wrong but it seems that the number of bumper stickers is inversely proportional to the value of the car they are on. That must say something, but I'm not sure what.
At the opening of this column I said that I am somewhat ambivalent about specialty tags. Now, I'm not so sure. Even Hallerin Hill made exceptions to his stand against the plates. If you want to spend the extra money to have the state print your opinion, then go for it. As for me, I'll take whatever standard license plate the county clerk happens to hand me.
Ed Baldwin is a columnist for the Claiborne Progress
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