Are license plates the property of the automobile owner?
smart kId Izzy asked:
Suppose an automobile owner decides to cover a part of the state license plate. Will he be arrested for doing so? Or is it o.k. since it is HIS automobile, making it HIS license plate, therefore allowing him to do what he wants to it, since it under HIS ownership?
what if the reason for covering it is for religious purposes? would that be a right protected by the first amendment?
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Suppose an automobile owner decides to cover a part of the state license plate. Will he be arrested for doing so? Or is it o.k. since it is HIS automobile, making it HIS license plate, therefore allowing him to do what he wants to it, since it under HIS ownership?
what if the reason for covering it is for religious purposes? would that be a right protected by the first amendment?
March 25th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
The plate belongs to the state government.
And the First Amendment thing wouldn’t work. Because yes, you have the right to cover the plate — but the moment you do, you lose the privilege of operating it on public roads.
Driving on public roads is not a right — it’s a privilege extended to authorized drivers of automobiles with current registration and insurance and properly displayed tags (and, in some states, inspection stickers), operated by a person with a valid drivers license.
If any of the above conditions are not met, you do not get to drive a car on the same roads as the rest of us. Teekno
March 27th, 2010 at 12:08 am
YOUR license plate belongs to the STATE, not you.
There are also statutes in every state, which make it mandatory for your license plate to be readable and not covered in any way to obscure them.
You probably won’t get arrested, but if you want to pay traffic tickets every time you get stopped for it, go ahead and cover your license plate.
If you don’t pay the fines, you will have a warrant issued for your arrest. Bill G
March 27th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Plates can never be covered. its the law. Are you doing beer runs or something? itsjujubeans