Nashville woman sues state officials over license plate deemed 'offensive' 10 years later

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Nashville woman is suing Tennessee officials over a vanity plate she bought 10 years ago that her lawyers say was deemed "offensive."

Leah Gilliam filed a lawsuit against Tennessee Department of Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano and Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III over the incident, claiming her First Amendment rights have been violated.

Her lawyer, Daniel A. Horwitz, says it's all over a vanity license plate bought more than a decade earlier.

Gillum's current license plate reads "69PWNDU" and Horwitz said the license plate celebrates her interest in "astronomy and gaming."

To celebrate her interests, she sought, received, and—for more than a decade—has harmlessly displayed the following vanity plate on her car, which combines the year of the moon landing with a gaming term.

The lawsuit says the plate combines the year of the U.S. moon landing, 1969, with a common gaming term, written on the license plate as "pwn," and representing the term "pwned," used when a gamer totally "owns" another gamer, utterly defeating them.

Earlier this year, the lawsuit claims Gillum received a letter from the Tennessee Department of Revenue summarily revoking her vanity plate on the basis that it had been "deemed offensive."

Her lawyer says that since Gillum would be prohibited to renew her vehicle registration if she doesn't change her tag, according to the letter, "the Department’s summary revocation of Ms. Gilliam’s vanity plate exposes her to the immediate threat of criminal liability—a fine and up to 30 days in jail—if she does not acquiesce to the Department’s pre-hearing prior restraint against her constitutionally protected speech."

Gilliam has filed an application for a temporary injunction seeking to enjoin enforcement of Tennessee’s vanity plate revocation law against her pending the conclusion of judicial review.

“The First Amendment forbids the government from discriminating against citizens based on the viewpoint they express,” said Horwitz Law, PLLC principal Daniel A. Horwitz, who represents Ms. Gilliam. “Ms. Gilliam’s harmless vanity plate is transparently protected by the First Amendment, and the only illegality involved is the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s decision to violate her First Amendment rights.”

FOX 17 News reached out to the Tennessee Department of Revenue and received a statement saying the department would not comment on the litigation.

The Department of Revenue declines to comment on ongoing litigation. Generally, Tenn. Code Ann. 55-4-210(d)(2) prohibits the Tennessee Department of Revenue from issuing a personalized license plate that “may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency or that are misleading.” Tenn. Code Ann. 55-5-117 authorizes the revocation of a motor vehicle registration plate that was erroneously issued contrary to the law.

FOX 17 News also reached out to Slatery's office. A spokesperson said the lawsuit is being reviewed and the office does not comment on pending litigation.