Since 2022, a Sacramento woman has paid $50 yearly fees for her personalized license plate, which says “IAMISIS.”
Now, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has recalled the plate. Officials have deemed it possibly offensive.
For Isis Wharton, the plate is simply factual. She’s appealing the DMV’s decision.
On Friday, Wharton told The Times that she received a letter that said the license plate, among other things, “creates a risk of inciting violence.”
The DMV stated the “IAMISIS” personalized plate could be construed as “I am Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” ISIS is considered a transnational terrorist organization by the United States, responsible for acts of violence around the world.
“At first when I opened the letter I was very surprised that they were doing this after so many years,” she said. “I felt hurt and offended by them implying that my name was something that would incite violence.”
Wharton said her license plate is a reflection of her name and the ancient Egyptian goddess she was named after.
Isis symbolizes healing and maternal love and was worshiped from England to Afghanistan during the time of the Roman Empire.
“Because of that,” she said, “I choose to fight it because I think this could be a great example of bringing back the powerful and peaceful name Isis and not giving all the negative power to the terrorist group.”
In a statement to The Times, the DMV said it is required by law to review all requests for personalized license plates and ensure the configurations being approved are permissible under state law.
“The DMV understands that language and symbols can hold different meanings across cultures and communities,” the statement said. “What may be a term of endearment in one context can be perceived differently in another.”
If a personalized plate falls into one of the following categories, officials said, the plate can be refused:
- It has a sexual or scatological meaning.
- It is an expletive or term considered profane or obscene.
- It conveys any kind of message related to the following characteristics of a group of people: race, ethnic or national origin, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.
- The configuration contains fighting words, or refers to illegal or violent acts, including but not limited to criminal gang affiliation or activity, weapons, genocide, or creates a risk of inciting violence.
- It misrepresents an association with government or law enforcement through any combination of letters or numbers which indicate an affiliation to an agency or to an office or position, including, but not limited to an elected office, employment as a police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic or first responder.
- The configuration is a non-English or slang word or term or is a phonetic spelling or mirror image of a word or term falling into the categories described in the sections above.
The DMV has given Wharton until Sept. 27 to appeal the agency’s decision by requesting a hearing.
In 2020, five California residents filed complaints against Steve Gordon, director of the DMV, after their personalized license plates were deemed noncompliant under state law. They argued the agency imposed “content-based and viewpoint-based restrictions on speech” with regards to the license plates, which is unconstitutional under the 1st Amendment.
The license plates in question included “OGWOOLF,” which the DMV said “contained a gang reference.” Another license plate read “SLAAYRR,” which the agency said “may be considered threatening, aggressive or hostile.” The third license plate said “QUEER,” which the department said “may be considered insulting, degrading, or expressing contempt for a specific group or person.” A license plate that said “DUKNA” was rejected by the DMV because it “looks or sounds like a swear word.” Lastly, “BO11LUX” was noncompliant because it “has a discernible sexual connotation.”
The court ruled in favor of the drivers because their personalized plates were protected under the 1st Amendment as private speech.
The post Her license plate says ‘IAMISIS.’ The DMV doesn’t care what her name is, says plate must go appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
