ELKHART, Indiana -- The Goshen resident, Chris Bontrager, wanted a personalized plate and he requested it from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. At first, he wanted the plate to read “Atheist” but the system said it was unavailable so he replaced the letter ‘I’ with the number “1”. And then he paid the fee and waited for his new plates. But he got a letter from the BMV saying he needed to try again because his request didn’t get approval.

“The BMV’s online tool said that it fit the criteria to be on a plate and I paid for it,” Bontrager said. “So I was a little surprised when I got the denial letter.” The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles didn’t give him a specific reason for the denial. The denial letter only states that the BMV can deny a personalized plate based on three criteria:

• If it carries a connotation offensive to good taste or decency
• If it would be misleading
• If the BMV considers it improper for issuance.

Bontrager believed the denial was religiously motivated because it wasn’t offensive, misleading or improper to be denied, so he filed an appeal with the state. He said that he conferred with ACLU lawyers about suing the state to have his license plate approved. Bontrager was told by the ACLU that he might have a case based on the state’s Establishment Clause, which provides that if the government allows one religious statement, it must allow all religions to have the same benefit.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana helped Bontrager’s appeal process move quickly, without him having to testify before an appeals panel.  “There are a lot of people out on the road with personalized plates that have other religious messages on them,” Bontrager said. So, there shouldn’t be a problem with the word ‘atheist’ because it shows someone’s lack of belief in a religion, such as religious words on plates aren’t inappropriate. He even pointed to the story of one man who has a plate that reads “No Gods”. He eventually received the new license plate.

Photo Credits: Patheos