Anti-Porn Group Finally Gets Its Kentucky License Plate

FRANKFORT, KY—After a three year battle, a foundation comprised of anti-porners has finally been granted its own “In God We Trust” license plate by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Proceeds from the sale of the license plates will go to fight porn addiction and to help sex workers seeking to leave the adult entertainment industry. (You know, all the porn stars who live and work in Kentucky.) As previously reported by AVN, a group related to the ROCK Cares foundation in name and members, Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana (ROCK), saw its 2008 application rejected by both the state Transportation Cabinet and a state judge, who found that the group's claim that the plate was intended only to oppose porn and not to promote religion farfetched. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd wrote in his ruling, "The phrase 'In God We Trust' does not indicate to anyone who views the plate that the holder of the specialty plate supports the goal of abolishing pornography and the sex industry in the commonwealth.” According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, however, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has now authorized the plate, “which also displays the name of the foundation sponsoring the plate, ROCK Cares,” a change to the design which apparently swayed the cabinet. “The foundation is now promoting the plate, seeking to reach the legally required minimum of 900 applications before the state will begin producing it,” the site reported. In January, Kentucky actually started selling its own “In God We Trust” license plates, along with ones that contain the state slogan, ‘Unbridled Spirit.” According to a Transportation cabinet spokesperson, 70,817 standard-issue plates proclaiming “In God We Trust” have thus far been sold to state residents. The Courier-Journal also reported, “The ROCK Cares Foundation has many of the same board members as Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana. But the former group operates in Kentucky, while the latter has been active in both Kentucky and Hoosier issues, particularly lobbying for strong pornography controls in Clarksville, Ind.” And of course, as we noted in April the question of whether the "In God We Trust" plates violate the First Amendment's prohibition against government entities "establishing religion" remains open.