Judge dismisses obscene ‘I love p---y’ bumper sticker charge against Columbus woman

A Columbus woman who was cited by police for an obscene bumper sticker stating, "I Love p---y" won't face a charge on the decal after a Thursday hearing in Recorder's Court.

Judge Julius Hunter agreed with public defender Owen Lynch who argued against the obscene stickers or decal charge against Aaliyah Marie Loman, 21. The judge dismissed the obscene sticker charge but bound the other charges of possession of a drug related object; possession of marijuana; having a suspended registration; no proof of insurance; and giving a false name, address or birthdate to police over to State Court.

Loman was taken into custody about 2 p. m. Tuesday at River Road and Veterans Parkway on a traffic violation. The alleged obscene sticker was noticed on the Ford Mustang she was driving. A small amount of marijuana was found inside the car.

On the sticker, Lynch said there was a statute on the books that made certain obscene bumper stickers illegal under Georgia law.

“When I did a little bit of research, it seems that particular statute was held unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court around 1991,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that any profane writing cannot be illegal under any circumstances. But in this case, the statute that was used has already been held to be unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court which is why the judge dismissed that case.”

Hunter said the writing on the sticker is protected by First Amendment freedom unless you have something that’s going to be provocative or cause you to fight. “Generally speaking, you have broad First Amendment rights,” the judge said.

For most drivers with a similar bumper sticker, you are protected by the First Amendment, Lynch said. “You should be OK,” Lynch said. “I’m not going to go into any specifics though.”

The case law argued by Lynch is Cunningham vs The State. Cunningham was charged under OCGA 40-1-4 on a vehicle with a bumper sticker containing the words “shit happens.” He challenged the constitutionality of the statute but was denied during a pretrial motion. He was convicted and fined $100. A motion for a new retrial was denied and he appealed.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled the statute unconstitutional in February 1991.

The statute 40-1-4 states that no person owning, operating, or using a motor vehicle in this state shall knowingly affix or attach to any part of such motor vehicle any sticker, decal, emblem or other device containing profane or lewd words describing sexual acts, excretory functions or parts of the human body.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Judge dismisses obscene ‘I love p---y’ bumper sticker charge against Columbus woman."