Official Tennessee "Choose
Life" License Plate
UPDATE – February 10, 2010
Sales continue to
increase for the Choose Life specialty plate. Sales for the 7th top selling
specialty plate increased 5% from the previous year! Selling 8,194 plates for year ended December 31, 2009
and raising over $127,900 for life affirming agencies in Tennessee. 23,374 plates have sold since December of
2006 raising over $365,100!
“Pro-Life
Tennesseans owe a debt of gratitude to legislative sponsors of the new Choose
Life plate,”
said Brian Harris,
president of Tennessee Right
to Life. “State
Representative Glen Casada
and former state Senator Jim Bryson led the battle through good times and bad
to see life affirmed and resources provided to those
who
would help women and families facing difficult pregnancies …Our brave
sponsors never gave up and
neither
should we,” said Harris.
It’s Official!
Tennessee’s Choose Life Plates Hit the Road
After legislative battles, the required
pre-sell and a long court fight against the ACLU and Planned Parenthood,
pro-life Tennesseans have succeeded in making the Choose
Life specialty plate a reality in our
state!
Proceeds from the plates will benefit social
service providers throughout Tennessee who
offer tangible support and assistance to women and families facing
difficult or unexpected pregnancies.
The Choose Life specialty license plate
costs an additional $35.00 each time you renew or purchase vehicle license.
$15.38 of this fee is returned to New Life Resources, Inc. A pro-life non-profit 501 c3 organization
in Nashville responsible for
disbursing the funds.
Following a long struggle to pass and defend
the life-affirming specialty plate, pro-life Tennesseans have reason to
rejoice having met each challenge with focus and determination which
ultimately resulted in victory.
· Following
vehement committee opposition from pro-abortion legislators, the plate
passed 26-4 in the state Senate and 80-14 in the state House.
Pro-life supporters across the state overwhelmed pro-abortion legislators
with calls and emails demanding fair treatment for the Choose
Life plate.
· Pro-Life
Tennesseans again demonstrated broad support for the plate and completed
the required pre-sell of 1,000 plates faster than any other specialty
plate. 1,265 plates were reserved in just 6 months including drivers
from every one of Tennessee’s
95 counties!
· Following
passage, Tennessee Right
to Life committed to do everything
possible to defend the plate. As a result, TRL assisted in obtaining
high profile legal counsel and assisting sister non-profit organization,
New Life Resources, in becoming recognized as an ‘intervening defendant’ in
the pro-abortion lawsuit against the state and the Choose
Life plate.
· In
2004, pro-abortion U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell struck down the
plate as violating Freedom of Speech. Though pro-abortion Governor Bredesen
refused to allow the Attorney General or state resources to defend the
plate, New Life Resources successfully appealed the wrong decision to the 6th
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
In March of 2006, the Appeals
Court agreed that the plate is
constitutional.
· More
than 12,000 promotional Choose Life
‘front plates’ are sold across the state to assist in underwriting legal
defense of the plate.
· ACLU
of Tennessee
appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court which refuses in June of 2006 to take up
the challenge, thereby allowing for the production and distribution of the
plate.
Now the challenge to pro-life Tennesseans is to
make the Choose Life
plate one of the best selling in order to demonstrate our commitment to raising
awareness, protecting life and targeting resources to agencies which help
women and families to choose life!
For
more information on obtaining your Choose
Life plate, call our statewide
toll free hotline:
1-877
CHOOSE LIFE
(1-877-246-6735) or info@newliferesources.org
Choose Life – It Happened!
That’s right, we can now save lives, help women avoid the heartbreak of
abortion, and help adoptive families have babies to adopt in Tennessee.
How can you help? By purchasing an official state-issued Choose
Life specialty license plate you show support for life
while also generating funds to promote and assist women to choose adoption.
What’s the cost? The Choose Life
specialty license will cost an additional $35 per year, every year, $15.38
of which goes to promote the pro-life message through advertising, adoption
coalitions and direct support to life affirming agencies across Tennessee.
How do you get one for your car? You can obtain one by visiting
your county clerk’s office now or when your current license plate
expires. Click here
for a listing of county clerk’s offices.
Click
here for more information about Tennessee
specialty license plates.
Who gets the money? Current partner agencies receiving proceeds
each quarter include: Abortion Alternatives and Women’s Center (Elizabethton),
Agape House (Martin), Bethany
Christian Services (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis), Birth
Choice Pregnancy Resource Clinic
(Jackson), Birthright of Memphis, Care Net Pregnancy Services
(Dickson), Choices Pregnancy
Resource Center (Chattanooga), Choices Resource Center (Oak Ridge),
Choose Life of Northern Alabama (Huntsville), Confidential Care for Women (Covington), First Choice Pregnancy Counseling Center (Shelbyville), Full
Circle Women’s Center (Athens), Grace Pregnancy Resource Center
(Nashville), Hope Clinic (Nashville), Hope Pregnancy Center
(Clarksville), Hope Resource Center
(Knoxville)*, In His Image Pregnancy
Center (Lewisburg), Life Choices of Dyersburg, Life Choices of Memphis, Life
Outreach Center (Jefferson City), New Hope Pregnancy Center
(Cleveland), Plateau Pregnancy Services (Crossville), Pregnancy Care Center (Old Hickory),
Pregnancy Center of Columbia, Pregnancy
Resource Center (Maryville), Pregnancy Support Center
(Murfreesboro), Tomorrow’s Hope Pregnancy Center (Paris), Women’s
Care Center (Dayton). *Application approved will begin receiving 3rd quarter
2009 proceeds.
Who is New Life Resources? Affiliated as a benevolent outreach of Tennessee Right to Life, New Life Resources is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in 1995 to
proved direct resources for women and families facing difficult or
unexpected pregnancies.
How can life affirming agencies apply for funds? Participating
agencies must complete and return an application to New Life Resources
signifying agreement with core principles and acceptance of criteria.
Funds are meant to provide support for the expansion of outreach
efforts rather than to underwrite existing programs. New Life
Resources additionally requests agency assistance and participation in
promotion of Tennessee’s Choose
Life specialty license plate program through use of the
plate image and information in agency publications, events, websites and
mailings. Click
here to request an application by email.
How can I promote the Choose Life plate in my community? New Life Resources and Tennessee
Right to Life have
developed posters, flyers and bulletin inserts with the plate image and
information about the program. Click
here to request information or materials.
For questions, call 877.CHOOSE LIFE
(246.6735)
CANNOT PURCHASE AN OFFICIAL
CHOOSE LIFE PLATE...
Click here to order a front
bumper promotional Choose Life plate.
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