Florida Governor Lawton Chiles vetoed a request for a new anti-abortion license plate yesterday.
The proposed plate was bright yellow in color, featured the faces of two children and read ''choose life.'' An anti-abortion, pro-adoption group called Choose Life Inc. collected 10,000 signatures and paid $30,000 in an attempt to gain legislative approval of the new license tag.
Gov Chiles said, "It's a subject that is controversial, and divides the state...I don't think it's what the state of Florida's license tags should be used for." Proceeds from the sale of the license tags, which would have been priced $20 higher than standard plates, were to be distributed to organizations that promote adoption. Gov. Chiles noted in his veto message that organizations that provide abortion services or counseling in addition to adoption services would have been unfairly excluded as recipients.
5/20/2013 Afghan Violence Against Women Law Blocked in Parliament - On Saturday, the Speaker of the Lower House of Afghan Parliament delayed a vote on the Elimination of Violence against Women law after two hours of vociferous debate between conservative religious and more liberal members of Parliament. . . .
5/20/2013 Walmart, American Retailers Refuse to Join Bangladesh Accord - Walmart, along with 13 other major North American companies, refused to sign a legally binding agreement to improve working conditions for overseas factory workers that manufacture their clothes after a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh killing an estimated 1300 workers, the New York Times reports.
The agreement requires retailers pay $500,000 to improve worker safety measures over a five year period. . . .
