Gov. McAuliffe says Confederate flag will be removed from specialty plates in Virginia
Last edited Tue Jun 23, 2015, 12:27 PM - Edit history (2)
Source: Roanoke Times, Roanoke.com
Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 10:36 am
By John Ramsey | Richmond Times-Dispatch
jramsey@timesdispatch.com
(804) 649-6911
The Confederate battle flag emblem will soon be removed from specialty license plates in Virginia, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced this morning.
McAuliffe's decision comes on the heels of efforts in South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds following a racially motivated shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church. ... It also follows a Supreme Court decision last week that ruled states can censor messages on license plates.
“Although the battle flag is not flown here on Capital Square, it has been the subject of considerable controversy, and it divides many of our people" McAuliffe said in a statement. "Even its display on state-issued license tags is, in my view, unnecessarily divisive and hurtful to too many of our people."
Virginia approved specialty plates for the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1999, but the law specifically banned the Confederate battle flag image. The Sons of Confederate Veterans sued the state and won the right to display the Confederate emblem on grounds of free speech. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002 affirmed the group's right to have the logo on the plates.
Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/gov-mcauliffe-says-confederate-flag-will-be-removed-from-specialty/article_048a42a9-e65f-5679-a4a9-c159657388a7.html
Annoying autoplay commercial starts in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ....
Full disclosure: I am eligible to join the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I know many members.
The original article, with a less informative title:
McAuliffe orders Confederate flag off Virginia license plates
From the U.S. Supreme Court, on Monday: Supreme Court Blocks Texas Confederate Flag License Plate
What SCOTUS ruled was that Texas was not required to issue specialty plates bearing an image of the CSA Battle flag. In the Commonwealth of Virginia and in Maryland, these plates have been made available due to a court order. Terry McAuliffe might find that it's not a matter of "because I said so."
Virginia’s McAuliffe plans to phase out Confederate flag license plate
By Jenna Portnoy and Laura Vozzella June 23 at 11:54 AM
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Tuesday that he wants to phase out a state-sponsored license plate featuring an image of the Confederate flag. ... At an appearance in Richmond on Tuesday, McAuliffe (D) called the symbol “unnecessarily divisive and hurtful.”
The news comes in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of nine members of a historically African American church in Charleston, S.C., allegedly by Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year-old white man who, according to police, said he wanted “to start a race war.” ... It also comes the week after the Supreme Court ruled that Texas is free to reject a specialized license plate featuring the Confederate flag.
That ruling throws into question an older decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit that the plates are private speech. Virginia and Maryland have been under court order to offer specialty plates for the Sons of Confederate Veterans featuring the flag insignia.
Government free to pick and choose which proposed license plate designs to allow, notwithstanding the First Amendment
Yes, I see this was dated June 18, four days before the ruling was issued.
By Eugene Volokh June 18
So holds the Court in Thursday’s Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, in an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer (joined by the other relatively liberal Justices plus Justice Clarence Thomas). It’s an interesting opinion, with a sharp dissent by Justice Samuel Alito, joined by the other conservatives, though it’s not clear how broad its impact will be.
No Middle Ground in Confederate License Plate Case
No Middle Ground in Confederate License Plate Case
by Michael Dorf
Justice Breyer's majority opinion in Walker v. Texas Div., Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is so badly reasoned that it cannot be taken seriously at face value. After explaining why I think Justice Alito's dissent is more persuasive, I'll explore why both the majority and dissent disregarded proposals for an intermediate category of mixed government/private speech.
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