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DMV Cracks Down On "HAMMAS" License Plate Spotted In Brooklyn
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 4, 2014
Modified Sep 4, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 4, 2014
Modified Sep 4, 2014
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The DMV will revoke the personalized "HAMMAS" license plate spotted on a black Dodge parked in Bay Ridge this week. Officials at the DMV believe the license plate references Hamas, the Palestinian organization designated a terrorist group by the U.S. But, as Daily Intel suggests, couldn't it just as easily be an acronym for "How About More Money and Stuff"? Or the beginning of a viral marketing campaign for the final season of Mad Men, which will only be fully revealed when a series of cars parked side-by-side announce JON HAMMAS DONDRAPER EXCEPT IT WAS ALL DR. DREW BAIRDS DREAM?
No, it seems plausible the license plate is a reference to Hamas, due to such subtle clues as a Palestinian flag draped over the car's windshield and the letters ALQASSAM on the plate frame—a possible reference to Hamas's military wing Al-Qassam, unless it's an acronym for Any Loser Questioning Aaron Sorkin's Scriptwriting Ain't Magnanimous.
"We are pulling this plate off the road as patently offensive," Jackie McGinnis, a spokesperson for the New York State DMV, tells NY1. "The group represented by the name on the plate is also on the list of entities designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization."
Finally, the people of Bay Ridge will no longer be patently offended by a deliberately misspelled reference to Hamas. The DMV's enforcement action will no doubt come as a huge relief to the local resident who told NY1, "I don't understand purpose of that plate, I don't understand purpose of not having that plate, but I want just general peace in the world."
Please be advised that the DMV's ban on personalized license plate that say PUBES, KOTEX, and FHUCAT remain in effect. Sadly, the same goes for ASSMAN.
Tagged
bay ridge
dmv
hamas
hammas
license plates
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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