The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Nevada has slammed the brakes on a license plate it believes has "defamed" everyone from California.
The license plate reading GOBK2CA—thought to mean "go back to California"—was revoked by Nevada's DMV in May, but the owner plans to appeal the decision this week, the Associated Press reported on Sunday.
More than 270 million vehicles were registered to drivers across the United States in 2021, Forbes reported, with the DMV trying to ensure that none of those license plates spell out offensive messages or rude words. Anyone can raise a complaint about a license plate, which the DMV will investigate. For instance, a woman in North Carolina last year was upset when someone submitted a complaint about her license plate that contained the word "fart." Meanwhile, a list of rejected personalized plates in Florida last year revealed that one driver, who was ultimately turned down, had hoped to get the license plate T BUNDY, in reference to serial killer Ted Bundy, approved. And officials in Hawaii recalled a license plate in 2021 reading FCKBLM, which could be read as "f*** Black Lives Matter."
The agency stepped in again in this case after receiving a complaint about the driver's GOBK2CA license plate. The owner is now preparing for a hearing on Wednesday in which he will fight to have the unusual plate returned to his vehicle.
The driver was identified on Thursday by local news channel KOLO-TV as Adam Steelmon, who had previously posted an image of the plate on social media where it went viral. His photo was reportedly liked by more than 80,000 people after he uploaded it to Facebook.
"[About a week after the Facebook post] I get a letter from the DMV saying we don't feel like your license plate is appropriate and here's a letter saying we're recalling them," Steelmon told KOLO-TV. "Local law enforcement have pulled me over to tell me they liked my license plate. Texas has pulled me over. In 20 years, I've had one person say well I don't think your license plates are very appropriate."
The relevant statute governing appropriate license plates states that drivers "can't express contempt, ridicule or superiority of race, ethnic heritage, or gender," said Eli Rohl, a public information officer for the Nevada DMV in Carson City. They must also not contain "any sexual, derogatory or obscene" words, drug or gang references, or "defamatory reference to a person or a group."
Rohl told Newsweek: "I'll be the first to say that we do have a sense of humor, and we often either wind up rolling our eyes or laughing at the obviously noncompliant plates that come through for review. However, whether or not we see the humor in the proposed plates, we do need to apply the law equally and fairly. Sometimes we come to the wrong decision and discover later that a plate said something it shouldn't, and we issue a recall. Sometimes—as in this case—that happens when a member of the public finds a plate out 'in the wild' and submits that complaint.
"The section that is being applied to GOBK2CA is NAC 482.320 (6) (e)—'Makes a defamatory reference to a person or group.' In this case, the defamed group is Californians. Mr. Adam Steelmon's GOBK2CA plate is not unique in this; we regularly turn down plates that share the same (or very similar) messages. If we've been rejecting applications for other 'back to California' plates, then it's not an equal application of the law to receive a complaint about this plate and neglect to take action on it[...]
"If Mr. Steelmon wins his appeal, the DMV may need to be receptive to that and revisit its interpretation and application of this statute—however, we do feel that there is merit to this complaint, which is why the plate was recalled in the first place."
A special license committee meets every Monday to review license plates that have been subject to a complaint, before determining which ones violate the Nevada statute. Drivers unhappy that their plates have been recalled may appeal the decision by taking the case to a judge.
Update 7/11/23, 5:05 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments by Nevada DMV spokesperson Eli Rohl.
