Milton Woman Fights DMV Recall of “FCANCER” Vanity Plate

The ACLU of Delaware is taking up the case of a Milton woman whose vanity license plate has been recalled by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The DMV apparently feels that “FCANCER” is offensive.
Kari Lynn Overington has brought a lawsuit in Federal Court, contending that the decision is censorship and a violation of her First Amendment right to speech and expression.
Overington received a letter from the DMV in June 2021 revoking her license plate, which she had applied for and received by mail two months earlier. A judge recently rejected the state’s motion to dismiss the case, citing that it raises a “significant constitutional issue.”

“As a cancer survivor, the fight to end cancer is extremely personal to me,” Overington said. “I was shocked when the DMV recalled my license plate because fighting cancer in our communities is imperative, and a message I assumed everyone would embrace.”

Overington filed the lawsuit without an attorney.

“Delaware permits its citizens to express themselves through vanity license plates,” ACLU of Delaware Legal Director Dwayne Bensing said. “This case underscores the problems in the Delaware DMV’s current review process, which is subjective and has now led to censorship of protected speech.”

“Before my license plate was recalled, I received encouragement from other cancer survivors, family members of those lost to cancer, and many other community members. My license plate was an important message to others like me whose lives have been touched by cancer: that you are not alone. As my license plate declared that we have to fight cancer, I will also fight to make sure I can continue to provide that message to my community,” Overington added.