In a crackdown on vanity license plates to keep obscenities and violence off the streets of Maine, the state confiscated "LUVTOFU" from a family of vegans. Because what could be more vulgar than a block of firm, creamy, slippery bean curd?
Maine, once a lenient state when it came to personalized license plates, recently reversed course and recalled 274 of the states approximately 120,000 plates. One such "obscene" sheet of aluminum belonged to Peter Starostecki, whose family – including children – are vegans, and whose car not only sported the indecent word "tofu" on its plate but was also plastered with tofu bumper stickers (which the state, so far, still permits).
From AP News:
Maine had for several years allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban. But the state decided to change course and this year recalled 274 plates it deemed inappropriate. …
"It's my protest against eating meat and animal products," Peter Starostecki, the disappointed motorist, said after a zoom session with a hearing examiner for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. …
If a motorist loses an appeal to a hearing examiner, then they can sue in Superior Court. So far, no one has taken that step.
As for Starostecki, he was offered another license plate that had become available, V3GAN. But he decided he was done with vanity plates. He's awaiting a new license plate — a boring one randomly selected by the state.
