San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119 - Tuesday, November 5, 1996 - Page A17
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Kevin Dimmick, a 40-year-old Kensington man who learned that he was HIV positive in 1991, claims that the DMV violated his civil rights when it deemed his proposed plate offensive. Dimmick had planned to place the license plate on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

"I wanted to show people that it's OK to be HIV positive," Dimmick said in an interview last night. "I expected to encounter some bigotry, but I didn't expect it at the state DMV."

Evan Nossoff, a DMV spokesman, confirmed that the department received a copy of the complaint yesterday and called the suit an "outrageous" publicity ploy.

Nossoff said: "The California license plate is not the place to fight our culture's rhetorical battles. If he wants to make a statement, he can make it much stronger and much more detailed with a bumper sticker."

Dimmick, the founder of Positive Support, a Bay Area-based group for HIV-infected heterosexuals, filed his suit Friday in federal district court in Oakland. The suit seeks $5 million in damages for violation of civil rights and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Dimmick said that in June he went to the DMV office in El Cerrito to apply for his plate. He pored over a printout to make sure his selected plate had not already been used and paid a $41 fee for the personalized placard.

In a July 18 letter to Dimmick, the DMV stated that his request could not be honored because the plate could be considered "by some of our citizens to be offensive or misleading."

The DMV elaborated on its position in a September 6 letter: "Given the personal and sensitive nature of those individuals affected by the HIV virus, this department has taken a cautious position of denying any and all requests for configurations with the HIV connotation."

Nossoff said the DMV once approved a license plate that read "HIV NEG." "The complaints came pouring in, and we took it off the street," he said.

As for his proposed plate, Dimmick said the DMV's response does not adequately explain exactly who would find his proposed plate offensive.

"They said, `by some of our citizens,' " he said. "My question is who -- a bigot? Do you mean you? They're playing God -- without a license."

Dimmick, who said he probably contracted the AIDS virus through drug use or unsafe sex, denied suggestions that he was seeking publicity by suing the agency for $5 million.

"I wouldn't be pushing my health for money," said Dimmick, adding that he hopes to have his case heard by a jury soon because of his condition.

The DMV has battled with others in the state over controversial vanity plates. In 1994, A cat lover from Cupertino won her bid to keep her 20-year-old license plate reading "A PUSSY."
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