
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 8, 1994                   TAG: 9401080124
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GROTTOES                                LENGTH: Short

VIRGINIA DMV LETS ATHEIST HIT THE STREETS

Now that the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles said Arnold Via of Grottoes can apply for a license plate that says "ATHEIST," he is in no hurry to get the tags.

"I have to think a little bit," Via said Thursday. He said he wants to talk with his lawyer "to see if there is any kind of trick here."

Via originally applied for the plate in April 1985. The DMV refused to issue the plate because of its religious connotation.

In a letter Monday, DMV's Daisy L. Dulick told Via that the policy was changed after the agency found several other states "allow references to deities" on auto tags.

Via had ATHEST plates when Virginia allowed six letters or numbers on its vanity tags. When the limit was increased to seven letters in 1985, Via applied for his ATHEIST plates.

DMV refused his request and ordered him to turn over the ATHEST plates as well.

After a legal battle, Via gave up the tags in 1989.

by CNB