LICENSE PLATE LIBERTIES
‘IRISH’ Gets a Pass, But Other Sentiments Are Banned

BY DAVID L. HUDSON JR.

Carol Ann Martin is proud of her Irish heritage—so proud that she’s had Irish-related license plates for seven years. But when the dual citizen Irish-American went to get a vanity plate reading simply "IRISH," Vermont’s Department of Motor Vehicles tried to stop her. The DMV prohibited plates referring to ethnic heritage.

Undaunted, Martin took her case to court. She even wore a headband to the state supreme court that had a leprechaun on it with shamrocks.

"I also had a button that read, ‘I’m not stubborn; I’m just Irish,’ " she says. . . .