'Don't Tread On Me' Plate Proves Popular In Va.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A specialty license plate featuring a symbol that has become associated with the tea party movement is a big seller in Virginia.

According to the Virginian-Pilot ( http://bit.ly/K8r7oE ), nearly 21,800 vehicles registered in Virginia are sporting the "Don't Tread On Me" plate. That makes it ninth in popularity among more than 200 specialty tags, and second only to the "In God We Trust" plate among those authorized in the last five years.

The plate, which has been available for a year and eight months, is based on the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag featuring a coiled rattlesnake above the slogan. Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas also have sanctioned "Don't Tread On Me" plates.

Several other Virginia specialty plates with political themes are less popular. The abortion-rights "Trust Women/Respect Choice" plate, for instance, is on about 1,600 vehicles. And roughly 5,400 cars display the anti-abortion counterpart message, "Choose Life."

"My theory on this is, people want to feel like they're doing something, that they're not happy with the status quo," said David Donis of Norfolk, a past Hampton Roads tea party chairman.

Choosing a symbolic license plate, he said, "is an easy way for them to express their sentiments."

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