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https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...plate-deemed-inappropriate15-years-later.html
A Toronto man is being forced by the ministry of transport to relinquish a vanity plate deemed to be against their "religious" criteria:
"Daniel D’Aloisio says he’s being “strong armed” by the government to change his personalized licence plate, which reads VI6SIX.
Late last month, the 42-year-old received a letter from the Ministry of Transportation notifying him he has 30 days to turn in the offending tag or face cancellation because it’s considered inappropriate under the ministry’s “Religion” criteria.
“Any combination that could be perceived by the general public as religious subject matter, messaging or meaning is not permitted,” reads the letter — presumably connecting the figures on the plate to 666, the “number of the beast” as described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
But according to D’Aloisio, nothing could be further from the truth. He said he had the plate punched 15 years ago as a memorial to his father, who died of cancer, and their shared love of hockey.
He said he never had a problem with the custom tag until this March, when he opened a letter from ServiceOntario informing him that the Ministry of Transportation had received a complaint about his plate and that it was under review"
Goes on to explain the reasoning for the choice:
“It was a combination of what I wanted to say about Mario Lemieux, the six Stanley Cups I shared with my dad and all the people in my family,” he said.
The 42-year-old said he spent a lot of time deciding what characters to include on the plate, explaining that he and his dad were big fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins centre and that they had watched the Montreal Canadiens win six Stanley Cups before his dad died.
D’Aloisio said VI is short for “vie,” which means life in French, and added that years ago, when he picked out the plate, he intentionally kept it to six figures because there were six members in his family."
The ministry rejected his reasoning and is continuing to make him give it up. Now, while i think his reasoning for the plate maybe a tad questionable - i still believe he shouldn't be forced to hand it over. Honestly, it took me a minute to even get it, so i seriously doubt many drivers / people on the road gave it much attention. Although, i do wonder if someone did actually complained - can't say it would surprise me. Its also not even that offensive, hell, there are even building addresses with 666 in Toronto.
The obvious argument is that the ministry originally accepted it because they approved of it AND let him use it for 15 years. Its not like it was done in a clandestine way, he had to renew his plate sticker ever 1-2 years. Now, all of the sudden they want to take action; that is the part i have the most issue with. Feels like a kneejerk reaction to a sensitive believer and the government would rather look foolish than be seen as intolerant in any way.
What say you sherdog? I am interested in the opinions from both the religious and nonreligious members. Rightful action by the government or WHOOO CARES?!
A Toronto man is being forced by the ministry of transport to relinquish a vanity plate deemed to be against their "religious" criteria:
"Daniel D’Aloisio says he’s being “strong armed” by the government to change his personalized licence plate, which reads VI6SIX.
Late last month, the 42-year-old received a letter from the Ministry of Transportation notifying him he has 30 days to turn in the offending tag or face cancellation because it’s considered inappropriate under the ministry’s “Religion” criteria.
“Any combination that could be perceived by the general public as religious subject matter, messaging or meaning is not permitted,” reads the letter — presumably connecting the figures on the plate to 666, the “number of the beast” as described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
But according to D’Aloisio, nothing could be further from the truth. He said he had the plate punched 15 years ago as a memorial to his father, who died of cancer, and their shared love of hockey.
He said he never had a problem with the custom tag until this March, when he opened a letter from ServiceOntario informing him that the Ministry of Transportation had received a complaint about his plate and that it was under review"
Goes on to explain the reasoning for the choice:
“It was a combination of what I wanted to say about Mario Lemieux, the six Stanley Cups I shared with my dad and all the people in my family,” he said.
The 42-year-old said he spent a lot of time deciding what characters to include on the plate, explaining that he and his dad were big fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins centre and that they had watched the Montreal Canadiens win six Stanley Cups before his dad died.
D’Aloisio said VI is short for “vie,” which means life in French, and added that years ago, when he picked out the plate, he intentionally kept it to six figures because there were six members in his family."
The ministry rejected his reasoning and is continuing to make him give it up. Now, while i think his reasoning for the plate maybe a tad questionable - i still believe he shouldn't be forced to hand it over. Honestly, it took me a minute to even get it, so i seriously doubt many drivers / people on the road gave it much attention. Although, i do wonder if someone did actually complained - can't say it would surprise me. Its also not even that offensive, hell, there are even building addresses with 666 in Toronto.
The obvious argument is that the ministry originally accepted it because they approved of it AND let him use it for 15 years. Its not like it was done in a clandestine way, he had to renew his plate sticker ever 1-2 years. Now, all of the sudden they want to take action; that is the part i have the most issue with. Feels like a kneejerk reaction to a sensitive believer and the government would rather look foolish than be seen as intolerant in any way.
What say you sherdog? I am interested in the opinions from both the religious and nonreligious members. Rightful action by the government or WHOOO CARES?!
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