"Gettysburg 1863" Vehicle Plates Legislation to be Revived

The bugles are sounding for a renewed charge to be mounted by Pennsylvania State Reps. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, and Timothy L. Pesci, D-Armstrong/Indiana, to rally legislative forces behind two commemorative license plate bills that would benefit the preservation of Pennsylvania's monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield.

Readshaw said he will reintroduce a bill he sponsored last year to authorize memorial plates for cars and trucks. A portion of the proceeds from each plate would go to the preservation campaign.

Pesci introduced similar legislation for motorcycle plates.

The plates would use the standard blue background and yellow letters that are on current plates, similar to those already approved for such causes as college alumni organizations, veterans groups and volunteer firefighters.

Pesci's legislation is particularly challenging because it would authorize the first commemorative plate for motorcycles ever issued in Pennsylvania.

"I'm not seeking to dictate to the Department of Transportation exactly how the motorcycle plate should look," said Pesci. "PennDOT would have the final say on the design to ensure that it does not hamper the ability to read the registration number."

There are 134 monuments in the Gettysburg National Military Park that were funded by the General Assembly in the decades following the three-day battle that turned the Confederate tide. Many of the monuments were erected through the efforts of groups of veterans of the battle.

Weather, vandalism, and insufficient government funding for maintenance have left most of the monuments in need of attention. Some only need cleaning and polishing. Other, including the huge Pennsylvania Memorial, need major attention to ensure their preservation.

The potential popularity of the special registration plates has been illustrated by Readshaw's own sale of a commemorative front-bumper plate to benefit the Gettysburg monuments.

"We've already sold close to 800 and raised better that $15,000, and that's with a very low-key promotion," Readshaw said. "We've had orders from almost every state, plus a few orders from overseas."

Readshaw observed that just last month the General Assembly approved the issuance of special registration plates for veterans of the Vietnam Conflict and to benefit the cruiser Olympia Fund.

"These are both qualified projects," said Readshaw. "I believe the preservation of the monuments to the Pennsylvanians who save the Union at Gettysburg is equally worthy of special registration plates."


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