Back in October, Nathan Kirk, who lives and owns a gun store in Blount County, Ala., ordered a new vanity license plate for his Ford F-150. The plate featured the Gadsden flag, better known as the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, and the letters “LGBFJB.” Kirk says he paid a whopping $700 for the specialized license plate.
Of course, we all know what that letter combo stands for: “Let’s Go, Brandon. F*** Joe Biden.” Somebody at the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, decided months later that they didn’t like it.
Last month, Kirk received a letter from the state telling him that he had to return the plate within 10 days or face hefty fines as well as lose his vehicle registration.
“The Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, has determined the above referenced license plate contains objectionable language which is considered by the Department to be offensive to the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama,” the letter read in part, as reported by AL.com.
Department spokesperson Frank Miles told AL.com that “The department does not allow the ‘F-word,’ or any acronym for such, on a personalized license plate. That is the department’s only issue with this plate.”
Alabama has a history of rejecting vanity plates for objectionable content, from sexual and racial references to hatred for rival state schools to even expressing disdain for traffic on certain highways. In one infamous case, the state retroactively recalled a plate reading “NOHOMO.”
Instead of simply complying with the state, Kirk went to the media, and that gamble paid off. He received another letter from the Department of Revenue last week apologizing for recalling the plate and allowing him to keep it.