Judge approves 'GAYSROK' license plate<br /><br />Thursday, July 28, 2005; Posted: 9:29 a.m. EDT (13:29 GMT) <br /><br /><br />Elizabeth Solomon stands outside of her home in Park City, Utah. <br />SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- The state of Utah can't block a woman from using her license plate to tell the world "GAYSROK," a judge has ruled.<br /><br />The state has no good reason to prevent Elizabeth Solomon from having that plate -- which can be read "Gays are OK" or "Gays Rock" -- or another one saying "GAYRYTS," according to Jane Phan, an administrative law judge with the Utah State Tax Commission.<br /><br />"The narrow issue before us is whether a reasonable person would believe the terms 'gays are OK' and 'gay rights' are, themselves, offensive to good taste and decency. It is the conclusion of the commission that a reasonable person would not," Phan wrote.<br /><br />The state can appeal the July 19 decision.<br /><br />"We're discussing it, and we have 30 days to do that," Barry Conover, deputy director of the commission, which oversees Utah's Department of Motor Vehicles, said Wednesday.<br /><br />"It kind of opens up the door for all types of people who want to make a license plate a public forum, for every initiative," he said.<br /><br />Dani Eyer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, which represented Solomon, countered: "The government can't pick and choose what subjects it likes and does not like."<br /><br />Solomon, of Park City, on Wednesday said she considered the judge's decision as a victory for her daughter, who is gay, and for two gay male friends.
