tpollauf wrote:I take it that they are VERY strict in the state of Maryland when it comes to having the front plate displayed.
They are.
A tool they've been using lately is a camera hooked up to the computer that automatically runs a check on every license plate it sees. The police can just sit there casually, waiting for the system to flag a car, whether it's stolen, the owner has a warrant, too many outstanding tickets, whatever. Wouldn't surprise me if you one plate states started going to two in order to better take advantage of such systems.
For the front plate bracket, maybe you can hit a hardware store for some generic nuts or washers to use as spacers.