Canada Says Man's Surname Too Offensive for License Plate

A Canadian provincial government has withdrawn a man's eponymous personalized vehicle license plate, saying Lorne Grabher's surname is offensive to women when viewed on his car bumper. Grabher said Friday that he put his last name on the license plate decades ago as a gift for his late father's birthday, and says the province's refusal to renew the plate late last year is unfair. Grabher accuses the Nova Scotia government of discriminating against his name, the AP reports.

Transport Department spokesperson Brian Taylor says while the department understands Grabher is a surname with German roots, this context isn't available to the general public who view it. The personalized plate program introduced in 1989 allows the province to refuse names when they're deemed offensive, socially unacceptable, and not in good taste. (More vanity plates stories.)