Virginia is targeting 1,691 license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag in a statewide recall that will replace the existing tags with new ones without the controversial image.
The Virginian-Pilot reported that it’s unclear how quickly the flag tags will disappear from state highways now that the plates are being recalled and replaced following a federal judge’s ruling Thursday lifting a 2001 injunction that allowed the image.
“We’re working as quickly as possible to get this done,” Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Brandy Brubaker told the paper.
Vehicle owners with the flag plates will be sent new Sons of Confederate Veterans tags along with a letter of notification informing them that the old plates will become invalid in 30 days.
However, the replacement tag doesn’t exist yet. The DMV plans to come up with a new flag-less plate design in consultation with the veterans group.
Judge Jackson Kiser issued the injunction 14 years ago after the SCV sued the state over the license plate battle flag ban. The group argued the ban violated its First Amendment rights.
Kiser cited a recent Supreme Court ruling in a Texas case that said special license plates represent the state’s speech, and not the driver’s speech. A Texas board had rejected the flag tags over concerns the license plate would offend many Texans. The SCV was also the plaintiff in the Texas case.
The judge lifted the injunction in a ruling from the bench July 31 but Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring waited until the decision was issued in written form before announcing the recall.
Brubaker said the DMV is sending holders of the tags self-addressed envelopes with a request that they mail them back to the state for recycling.
But that many not stop holders from keep the tags, if only as a souvenir.
The DMV spokeswoman acknowledged to the Pilot that the agency can’t force motorists to turn them in.
Debate about Confederate symbols gained new traction after the June 17 mass shooting of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in what police say was an attack motivated by racial hatred. The white man charged in the slayings had posed with a Confederate battle flag in photos posted online before the killings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yep, that’s right America, be a bunch of damn pussies and let the psychos in charge take away more and more of your freedom! Who knows, maybe like a feel good, happy ending movie, the bully on the playground will mend his wicked ways, or at the very least take less of the wimpy kids’ lunch money or take it all from fewer wimpy kids.
A very few ignorant liberal America Haters make another stink about something they do not understand so everyone else in the country must bow down to their moronic demands to appease the pathetic bastards.
-Cynicles
After reading “The Real Lincoln” I have a hard time keeping from screaming about the whole thing.
The State owns the vehicle you paid for.
The State has the ‘Manufactures Certificate of Origin’ which is the true title.
The State can decide how and how not to identify its property.
Cheer on your new slave masters in 2016!
“Kiser cited a recent Supreme Court ruling in a Texas case that said special license plates represent the state’s speech, and not the driver’s speech.”
So whatever we put on our license plates has to be OK’ed by the State because the plates come from the state and not the driver???
WTF?? There’s no such thing as “state’s speech”. The state represent the people. It’s a public entity. It has no “speech regulations”. That’s absurd.
This is the same kind of shit they are trying to do with the whole “city property” crap. There’s no such thing as “city property”. It’s called “PUBLIC property” and We the People own it, NOT some government entity.
These Commie bastards won’t stop until they twist everything under their control and indoctrinate the naive sheeple into believing it. HANG ‘EM ALL!!! 😡
Oh my goodness …it was there last night.
It must have been “stolen”
“Judge Jackson Kiser issued the injunction 14 years ago after the SCV sued the state over the license plate battle flag ban. The group argued the ban violated its First Amendment rights.”
Still does.
“The DMV spokeswoman acknowledged to the Pilot that the agency can’t force motorists to turn them in.”
Soon to be remedied.
The dog & pony show is really hitting rock bottom these days.