| KETV |
| Dude’s gonna get his plates after all. |
After initially saying no, the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles relented on Monday, agreeing to issue pro-marijuana license plates to a Holbrook man.
Frank Shoemaker had sued the state Thursday in federal court, saying Nebraska’s refusal to grant him “NE420” plates violated his Constitutional right to free speech, reports Peter Salter at the Lincoln Journal Star.
Shoemaker, a farmer and ex-lawyer, wanted the plates for his 1970 Volkswagen bus to publicize his Nebraska Marijuana Legalization Inititive.
The the state initially denied his request, claiming the number 420 was “a reference to a date and time for people to smoke marijuana.”
They threw in, for good measure, that it’s also associated with Hitler’s birthday and with the Columbine school massacre in Colorado.
A state assistant attorney general contacted ACLU Nebraska on Monday, saying Shoemaker could have his pro-pot plates, according to ACLU Nebraska’s Amy Miller.
The attorney general’s office and the DMV could not be reached for comment.