Maine thinks this vegan's 'LUVTOFU' license plate is vulgar, so they recalled it.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
- Peter Starostecki is a vegan so he decided to get "LUVTOFU" as a custom license plate.
- The state of Maine, however, told Starostecki he couldn't keep that license plate, WGME reported.
- After reviewing custom plates, the state deemed Starostecki's plate as "inappropriate."
A tofu enthusiast was caught up in Maine's crackdown on vulgar license plates after the state deemed that his "LUVTOFU" plate could be mistaken for an obscenity, The Associated Press reported.
"My license plate literally says 'love tofu.' I'm a vegan," Peter Starostecki told WGME — no other meaning.
Starostecki's custom license plate was one of 274 that Maine deemed inappropriate after years of allowing just about any combination of numbers and letters on customizable plates. All appeals to reinstate the now deemed "naughty" license plates have been rejected, the AP reported.
State officials said the plate was recalled because the last two letters in "tofu" could be interpreted as vulgar," WGME reported. In 2014, Tennessee also banned a similar license plate. The state then said that Whitney Calk, an assistant manager for youth marketing at a local PETA couldn't have a license plate that read "ILVTOFU," USAToday reported.
"I'm just a vegan. No ill intentions," Starostecki told the outlet.
The AP reported that since vanity license plates were no longer reviewed since 2015, some people began putting vulgarities on their license plates. The Maine Legislature then asked the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reestablish a system to vet the 120,000 vanity plates.
The review system bans language that is considered obscene, incites violence or is a derogatory reference to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability, according to the outlet.
Starostecki told WGME that he was disappointed by the ruling, but would press the issue any further. He said while he thinks the ruling on his license plate may infringe on his right to free speech, he actually agrees that vulgarities shouldn't be on license plates.
Starostecki did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The motorist said he turned down the state's offer to have a license plate that read "V3GAN" and got a standard license plate.
"I'm gonna put my new plates on and just keep driving around," Starostecki told WGME.