Colorado Patriots, Seven other states in the Union have already developed a Don’t Tread On Me (DTOM) license plate. Let’s join the great states of Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

The American Conservatives of Color, a non-profit group based out of Colorado Springs, CO, is sponsoring this effort. We urge you to sign this Don’t Tread On Me license plate petition as an informal commitment that you will purchase this plate when it goes to market! We need a minimum of 3,000 signatures to keep this project moving forward. Once we reach this mark, an application will be submitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue for review. After approval, a bill must be passed in the State Legislature. We are fortunate to have interested parties who would be willing to carry our bill at the State Capitol. Once the bill passes both chambers, it would then be sent to the Governor’s Office for signature.

We hope you like the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag theme, featuring the iconic rattlesnake. The Gadsden flag was named after General Christopher Gadsden and is considered to be one of the first U.S. flags before it was replaced with our current Stars and Stripes flag (Old Glory). It is a yellow flag, highlighting a rattlesnake ready to strike with the words Don’t Tread On Me across the bottom. Throughout American history the Gadsden flag has been a part of our culture and persists today in modern society. It represents American patriotism, community, independence, freedom, and a shared national identity.

As the American Revolution unfolded, the snake was viewed as a symbol of the colonies and their independent ideals. Under a pseudonym, Benjamin Franklin wrote this about the rattlesnake and the American spirit in a 1775 essay published in the Pennsylvania Journal: “She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders; she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her.”

The US Marine Corps and the Continental Navy used a version of the Gadsden flag and adopted the defiant Don’t Tread On Me motto early on in its history. The First Navy Jack flag depicts the snake, the lettering DTOM, with red and white stripes. In recent years, the Secretary of the Navy ordered all U.S. Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack flag until the War on Terrorism is complete.

Like the colonists who defied supreme government, many American citizens today are concerned with government overreach and control. As Americans, our highest common value is freedom. Our individual liberties must be protected and the proper role of government should be maintained in order to preserve these personal freedoms. The coiled rattlesnake sends a message to anyone or anything that tries to take away our precious freedoms. Let’s carry this message forward on the roads of Colorado and remind our fellow citizens how important it is to stand up for our time tested Constitutional principles.

A one-time fee of $50 will be required to purchase this license plate. Each year thereafter, the standard vehicle registration fee will apply. Proceeds from this special license plate will go the State like regular, standard issue plates. The plate design may morph slightly during the application phase.

The goal is to collect the required 3,000 signatures by this summer and put forth a bill in the 2016 legislative session.

Please be sure to fill out all of the requested fields in this petition. We urge you to pass this petition link along to your like-minded patriot friends, and together, let's get this done (use your email contacts and social networking sites): http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dont-tread-on-me

Thank you. God bless you and God bless America.

Kind regards,

Marc Dettenrieder

Teller County Commissioner

mdteller2012@yahoo.com

Please note: It is worth mentioning we will not share any of the personal information you provide in this petition. The Colorado Department of Revenue and the State Legislature will only see your information as part of the approval and bill process.