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Driving change: Military plates to be tougher to getRALEIGH, May 18, 2009 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A bill approved by the state House would make it harder for impostors to buy license plates with a military theme. A separate bill also approved by the House on Wednesday would make it easier for combat veterans to get license plates commemorating their service. The legislation now moves to the state Senate. North Carolina offers at least 35 license plates with military themes. Examples include plates for people awarded the Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross or Bronze Star. Others are tailored for people who served in various branches of the military, served in specific wars or war zones, or in certain specialties, such as in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division or in the Navy's Submariner Service. North Carolina doesn't require someone to prove he qualifies for the plates, said Rep. Carolyn K. Justus of Henderson County. Justus sponsored the bill requiring proof. Justice said she became interested in the legislation after a constituent brought military documentation to the Department of Motor Vehicles and was told he didn't need it to get a Vietnam service plate. "He got upset by that," Justus said. Justus said she also had seen a magazine article about unqualified people getting military-themed license plates. Her bill would require the N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs to confirm whether an applicant qualifies for a military plate. The applicant couldn't get the plate without a form signed by the veterans agency. Meanwhile, Rep. Grier Martin of Raleigh, a major in the Army Reserves who served in Afghanistan, has legislation to ensure that only people who served in a combat area can get a license plate in honor of such service. For example, he said, some soldiers who were in the military during the Vietnam War never served in Vietnam. Under current law, they could get a Vietnam service plate. The plate has a picture of a Vietnam service ribbon. "He could get a license plate which depicts a medal to which he's not entitled," Martin said. Martin's legislation would prevent that. Martin's bill has a second provision to make it easier for combat veterans to get license plates commemorating their service. Normally, the state won't issue a specialized license plate until it receives requests for 300 plates. Martin's bill removes that threshold for plates issued to honor service in a war zone. Richard Becker, a former president of the 82nd Airborne Division Association, said he likes both bills. Some people like to buy medals and other insignia they never earned, Becker said. Other states that issue commemorative military license plates require the applicants to prove they qualify, and North Carolina should, too, he said. Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at [email protected], 486-3512 or (919) 828-7641. To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |