The California DMV rejected these license plates. Now it’s getting sued

Think “OG” and “Queer” are too extreme for a license plate? The California Department of Motor Vehicles did.

Now it’s getting sued by five Californians who believe the department unfairly censored their requests for vanity license plates.

The Pacific Legal Foundation on Tuesday announced the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It’s the libertarian legal organization’s second lawsuit in two years contesting the DMV’s rejection of vanity license plate requests.

One of the new clients, Paul Ogilvie, a disabled Army veteran, had requested the license plate “OGWOOLF,” a reference to his military nickname and his love of wolves.

The application was rejected, according to the lawsuit, because “OG” contained “a reference to gang affiliation” that was “offensive to good taste and decency.”

Ogilvie isn’t the only plaintiff. Other plaintiff license plates to be rejected included:

• “SLAAYRR.” The applicant was a fan of the band Slayer. The DMV rejected it for being “threatening, aggressive or hostile.”
• “QUEER.” The applicant, a gay man, sought to reclaim the term. The DMV rejected it for being “insulting, degrading or expressing contempt for a specific group or person.”
• “DUK N A.” The applicant, a woman named who owned two Ducati motorcycles. The DMV rejected it for being “profane or obscene.”
• “BO11LUX.” The applicant, an emigrated Englishman, owns a pub with the slogan “real beer, proper food, no bollucks.” The DMV rejected it for having “a discernible sexual connotation or may be construed to be of a sexual nature.”

This isn’t the first time that the Pacific Legal Foundation has helped someone take the DMV to court over a license plate request denial.

In 2019, the DMV denied a request for the license plate “COYW,” short for “Come on you whites,” a reference to a chant for the soccer team FC Fulham, known for their white jerseys.

The applicant, a California constitutional law professor named Jonathan Kotler, took the DMV to court with the help of the Pacific Legal Foundation. The DMV later settled the lawsuit and allowed Kotler to obtain the license plate.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 12:35 PM.