Oneonta native Nathan Kirk will be allowed to keep his personalized tag, which the state of Alabama had initially recalled for "objectionable language."
Kirk, the owner of Blount County Tactical in Oneonta, had initially been instructed by the state to surrender the plate. He received a letter from the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division last month.
According to a report from The Trussville Tribune, the letter said the plate contained "objectionable language, which is considered by the Department to be offensive to the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama. Registration for this personalized license plate message will not be issued/renewed."
The letter threatened fines and the impounding of his vehicle.
However, during an appearance on Birmingham talk radio Talk 99.5's "The Line," Kirk told host Andrew McLain the Department of Revenue had notified him that he would be allowed to keep it.
"[T]hey walked up tough, and now they're limping back," Kirk said.
"The state sent a letter saying…we're sorry, Mr. Kirk. We want to apologize. You're a lot bigger and stronger than us," Kirk joked.
Kirk explained how the process unfolded.
"I did get a phone call from them," Kirk added. "It was actually the same guy in Montgomery and explained that what the issue was that the state had of being from his words just the letter 'F,' and nothing else. We all know that is probably not true because the state of Alabama has a lot of tags with the letter 'F' in it."
Kirk said there were other examples of "FJB" on Alabama license plates that were not subject to the same scrutiny.
However, Kirk said ultimately a so-called review board sided with him on the issue and he was going to be allowed to keep the license plate.
"He told me that the review board that apparently caught the tag and had a problem with it looked at it again and determined that since it had a meaning other than the 'F-word' they were thinking about to us, it could have that meaning towards anyone."
Kirk had been featured on Newsmax TV, on many conservative websites and had his story widely circulated on social media.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
