Grabher takes legal action to reinstate name on personalized N.S. licence plate

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The court filings say the name is a point of pride for the family and its Austrian-German heritage, adding that Grabher’s son has used a similar personalized plate in Alberta without question.

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The case developed after the registrar said it received a complaint last December over the name and how it could be considered a “socially unacceptable slogan,” according to the court document.

Grabher has said he put his last name on the licence plate decades ago as a gift for his late father’s birthday.

The Transportation Department has said that while it understands Grabher is a surname with German roots, that context isn’t available to the general public who view it.  In addition, there was a complaint from a woman last October who said she regarded the plate as being hateful towards women.

The personalized plate program introduced in 1989 allows the province to refuse names when they’re deemed offensive, socially unacceptable and not in good taste.

A department spokesman said the rejection of Grabher’s licence wasn’t related to obscene comments made by Donald Trump in 2005 and released during last fall’s U.S. presidential campaign, in which Trump said he grabbed women by the genitals.

Grabher’s lawyers are seeking a declaration that cancelling his plates infringes on his rights, an order to reissue the plate and the provision of associated costs.

Alison Auld, The Canadian Press

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