Contact: Dr. Elizabeth Rex, President, The Children First Foundation, 914-629-3710 cell; 877-Fund-Adoption (877-386-3236), ElizabethRexCFF@aol.com, www.Fund-Adoption.org
EASTCHESTER, Sept. 10 /Christian Newswire/ -- It is simply unconscionable that the "9/11 Remembrance License Plate" is still being suppressed in the State of New York on the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Not even personalized vanity plates with messages using WTC, 911 or even 9II are allowed in New York, unless 9/11 is your birthday or you own a Porsche 911.
Just ask Arno Herwerth, the retired policeman who had to file a federal lawsuit against the DMV in order to keep his "GETOSAMA" plate. Herwerth's federal lawsuit is still not settled and, in the meantime, he has discovered that no one can put any reference to either 9/11 or WTC on any license plate in New York State. Why? Not even the Custom Plate Department of the DMV could explain it to him, admitting that they have received hundreds of heartfelt requests for 9/11 commemorative plates over the years and that, sadly, all of them have been denied.
When former Governor Pataki vetoed the "9/11 Remembrance License Plate" back on July 26, 2006, he referred to First Amendment legal concerns and the need for uniform standards or criteria at the DMV for new custom plates. If it had been a simple matter of establishing new DMV standards or criteria, the DMV's 2004 moratorium prohibiting the creation of new custom plates could have been -- should have been -- resolved long ago. Custom license plates raise awareness and much needed funding for important causes and organizations. The California 9/11 plate is raising over $1.3 million every year for September 11 related charities, with over $7 million raised to date, while New York's charitable 9/11 organizations are running out of funds.
On December 7, 2007, Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for former Governor Spitzer, may have been closer to the truth when she told a Newsday reporter that the state would not approve the 9/11 plate "until the pending lawsuit is resolved." Two months later, Spitzer's administration added insult to injury when the DMV quickly approved a new commemorative custom plate for the New York Giants just two days after their Super Bowl Championship.
On September 11th, Senators McCain and Obama have agreed to put aside partisan politics and to come together as Americans "to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones."
May their example inspire Governor Patterson's administration to put aside partisan politics, resolve the "pending lawsuit" and end the DMV's 2004 self-imposed moratorium that has unfairly blocked the approval of the pro-adoption "Choose Life" License Plate, the "9/11 Remembrance License Plate," the "Cure Childhood Cancer" Plate, the "Survivor of the Bravest" Plate (for the families of fallen firefighters) and so many others. Freedom of Speech, Due Process and Equal Treatment under the Law are civil liberties that belong to all Americans, and on this seventh anniversary, Americans in New York deserve better than government censorship.
The Children First Foundation (CFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting adoption as a positive choice for an unwanted pregnancy or newborn. CFF is the official sponsor of the "Choose Life" License Plate in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
