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Would you purchase a Texas Freemason License Plate?

Would you buy a Masonic license plate for $30?

  • Yes

    Votes: 202 92.7%
  • No

    Votes: 16 7.3%

  • Total voters
    218

drapetomaniac

Premium Member
Premium Member
Maybe it's structurally a fundraiser for the grand lodge so it doesn't need a resolution, just action from the GL? (I'm still ignorant on such things).

I got the strong impression it was a done deal and we just needed to coordinate with the state government at this point.
 

dhouseholder

Registered User
Maybe it's structurally a fundraiser for the grand lodge so it doesn't need a resolution, just action from the GL? (I'm still ignorant on such things).

I got the strong impression it was a done deal and we just needed to coordinate with the state government at this point.

Awesome! Then big thanks to your lodge for putting this together!
 

Ecossais

Registered User
Nope. I'm not a fan of personalized plates, bumper stickers, window stickers, shirts or caps that advertise, or danglies that hang from my rear view mirror. There is no reason why I would want some random person who just happens to be behind me at an intersection knowing whether I am a member of the Masons, the N.R.A., or greenpeace, or that my kid is an honor student, an Eagle Scout, a soccer player or a cheerleader, or who I voted for in the last election. Sorry, that just isn't me. There was a time in this country when people didn't plaster their lives on the back of their cars. If you kept a diary, you kept it locked up. Now, people live their lives in blogs, post embarrassing pictures of themselves on the internet, and want perfect strangers to know their nickname, abbreviated on a license plate. I find it all a little bizarre, at best.
 

Bro Mike

Registered User
Saw a proto-type of the plate last night at our Stated meeting. The Grand Treasurer mentioned that they might be for sale within a month!
 

Ecossais

Registered User
For years, there was an article in our Grand Lodge law that forbade putting a Masonic Square & Compasses decal on the back of your car. The sound reasoning behind that was that if a Mason let someone else (his son, daughter, nephew, niece, or neighbor, etc.) drive his car, then he has no control over where that car goes, how it is driven, or the actions of the person driving the car, or the actions of the people in the car with the driver. In a best case scenario, no one drives the car but the owner, and he always obeys the law. Okay, no harm done, but there is nothing gained either. In a worst case scenario, a Mason loans his car to a family member, neighbor or friend, or sells the car (with the sticker on it) to someone else, and that person drives in a manner that is offensive to other drivers on the road. All they see is that Masonic license sticker on the back of the car, and the result is that the fraternity gets a black eye. There is no guarantee that every car owned by every Mason will always be in the right place. A perfect example of the kind of problem that can arise was witnessed by me while on a family vacation a few years ago. We were driving the Interstate between Little Rock, AR, and Memphis, TN, when we were passed by a car driving 15 miles over the speed limit. On the back of his car, he had two Square & Compasses stickers, one on either side of his big white car-top luggage carrier, and next to each was a square, black & white, Playboy bunny logo. My wife and kids burst out laughing at this ridiculous and childish display on the back of this car, driven like someone with no regard for the law. So, I can see how a Masonic license plate could easily work to our detriment, but I cannot for the life of me see how it would work to our benefit.
 

Bro Mike

Registered User
One immediate benefit is that GLOT receives $22 per plate per year. So it ends up being a way for Grand Lodge to fill the coffers.

And maybe it will be a permanent reminder for the Brothers to behave out on the public roads.
 

Ecossais

Registered User
I'm not too worried about the members, although maybe I should be. My concern is when non-Masons are driving vehicles with a Masonic emblem on the rear. If the only benefit is $22, I'd pay double that to have no emblem on the back of my car. The old Grand Lodge Law that prohibited Masonic emblems on vehicles solved any potential problems for years.
 

Dave in Waco

Premium Member
I'm not too worried about the members, although maybe I should be. My concern is when non-Masons are driving vehicles with a Masonic emblem on the rear.

If I am not mistaken, when a vehicle is sold and the title transferred along with the registration, there would be a re-issue of plates where speciality plates are involved. So the Masonic plates on that vehicle wouldn't be legal.

Also Masonic plates are another way to keep our visibility in the public and one more arguement against those who think we are a secret society if the big visible buildings with square and compesses on them aren't enough.
 

Ecossais

Registered User
If you are worried about our visibility, I would think that all the publicity we've been getting in Time-Life, Newsweek and U.S. News special editions, added to the almost constant coverage on cable television, movies and books would be enough. If your objective is to appease the anti-Masons out there, then you are tilting at windmills. As for secret societies ... I thought we WERE a secret society!
 

Dave in Waco

Premium Member
Not everyone reads Time-Life, Newsweek and U.S. News special editions. Many cable television, movies, and such lend themselves to us being a secret society.

By definition from the GL, we are not a secret society, but a society with secrets. And when you get down to just facts, our secrets have been published for 250 years. Anyone with a web browser can find them out if they so choose, they just won't have the same meaning to them as they do a Mason. As Ben Franklin said, "The great secret in Freemasonry, is there is no real secret."
 

Bro Mike

Registered User
I was behind a truck on I-35 tonight. (He was driving very nicely, thank you very much) I glanced at his plate and noticed it was a Texas Knights of Columbus plate and I got to wondering if they had these same discussions when they decided to start up a license plate.
 

Ashton Lawson

Premium Member
My vehicle license plate is an official Texas DMV plate and it says "MASON." It's not a "Freemason" plate as Texas still doesn't have one of those, but it is an official Texas "vanity" plate from "myplates.com." I talked to Don Keasler a couple of weeks ago, who is in charge of Merchandise Sales for the Grand Lodge of Texas, and he said they'd be available pretty soon. He didn't have an exact date, but he said it was a sure thing at this point and just a matter of time until they are available.
 

Joey

Co-Founder
Staff Member
I'm not really surprised by that at all actually. Back when Blake & I designed the first plates we ran into a brick wall.... For whatever reason GL doesn't want to put the money up for the initial design & production even though they would get all of the deposit back. AND,they could make a lot of money for the Masonic Retirement Home or whatever charity they decided to use it on.
 

owls84

Moderator
Premium Member
There is one with a FREAKING HAMBURGER for Pete's sake. And we can't get a Masonic Plate? That is funny right there. Just about sums up what I have been thinking all along. Of every plate sold Grand Lodge could get $22 if the state agency that it chooses to donate to the GL. That is more than annual returns. Sad.

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s_pike

Registered User
YES!!!!!! YES!!!!! YES!!!! I would purchase a set. I looked this up on the texas license plate section two months ago and to my surprise, no Masonic plates are offered! I'd be proud to slap these on my vehicles!
 

jwardl

Registered User
If GL isn't willing to put-up the money, how about we all advance them the money? Only about 1% of Texas masons would need to respond. The announcement could be made by GL, with a date of final turn-in. Once the monies are collected, they could be turned in to the state. When the rebate comes, GL could just keep it as a donation to avoid the overhead of having to keep track of who paid and who didn't, and returning it to the proper lodge/brother.

Would anyone here be willing to do this? Yes, it would result in, effectively, paying DOUBLE -- but perhaps it would get the measure passed and get us the plates.
 

Dave in Waco

Premium Member
I think they could just set up a pre-order at GL during the Grand Communication and get the minimum order through pre-orders and avoid having to advance the money up front all together.
 
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