The State of Texas has denied a private citizens group the right to create a Confederate Flag vanity license plate.
The non-profit group Sons of the Confederate Veterans that petitioned the plate is calling foul and saying that their freedom of speech rights are being compromised.
Critics say the flag represents slavery and lynchings. Johny Holly, President of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans thinks otherwise. Holly makes the point that slavery was not exclusive to the South nor did any slave-ships fly under the banner of the “Bars & Stars” as the flag is sometimes called.
The irony that it is the State of Texas that is fighting against the plate has not been lost to observers; the state proudly celebrates Confederate heritage events and the flag itself can be spotted engraved on a select few monuments.
The flag already appears on license plates in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
The case is currently before the Supreme Court.
