Virginia Gov. Calls For Confederate Flag Removal From License Plates, But What About Other States?

Virginia’s Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced he will have confederate flag license plates phased out, but what about all the other states?

Calling the Confederate flag emblems on select Virginia license plates “unnecessarily divisive and hurtful,” this morning Governor Terry McAuliffe announced he will be phasing out the special order plates. All states offer specialized license plates promoting certain causes, as ways of adding revenue to the states’ coffers and to some organizations’ bottom lines.

For example, Maryland offers plates honoring the 82nd Airborne Division Association and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. 

But some states have refused to issue specialized plates to some groups. In February, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas violated the First Amendment when it refused to offer Confederate flag license plates, but just last week the Supreme Court overturned that ruling.

In May, New York State refused to issue pro-life plates, calling them “patently offensive.”

For years, the Sons of Confederate Veterans have benefitted from Confederate flag license plates in some states.

There are at least nine states that offer Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates, as the Washington Post has reported: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The move to eradicate the Confederate flag came after images surfaced of the 21-year old white supremacist who shot and killed nine members of a Charleston Black church last week. Dylann Roof had dozens of images, many of them showing him holding the Confederate flag. 

Yesterday, Gov. Nikki Haley called for lawmakers to pass a bill removing the Confederate flag from the State House. Also yesterday, Walmart announced it would stop selling items with the Confederate flag.

In Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reports that yesterday, “Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called for Maryland to stop issuing specialty license plates with the Confederate flag, and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz has moved to rename the popular Robert E. Lee Park.”

On Twitter, user Biracial brother has posted some other state-sponsored emblems of the Confederate flag:

 

Image, top by Biracial brother via Twitter