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It's a Heritage Thing, I Shouldn't Have To Explain

smokinggunsmokinggun Member Posts: 590 ✭✭✭✭
edited May 2002 in General Discussion
A sample of the Sons of Confederate Veterans specialty Virginia state license plate is seen Thursday, May 2, 2002, during a news conference on the steps of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicle in Richmond, Va. Virginia will not challenge a federal appeals court ruling allowing the Confederate flag to appear on specialty license plates, the state attorney general said Thursday(AP Photo/Mark Gormus)



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Sunday May 05 07:44 AM EDT
Plate flap stirs call for review
By Hugh Lessig
The flap over Confederate license plates has put a new twist on an old debate: Has Virginia gone too far with its specialty license plate program, and will this latest controversy create more trouble?

Some officials wonder if the state now should scale back or even repeal a program that offers more than 180 specialty plates. Supporters say that's an overreaction, but they'll take a closer look at the program next year.

The comments came last week after a federal court cleared the way for a Confederate flag to appear on a state-issued license plate. The symbol splits Virginians into two camps: those who say it honors Southern heritage, and those who see it as a troubling and offensive reminder of a racist past.

The court controversy and the ill will it generated left some officials shaking their heads.




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Va. Won't Appeal License Plate Ruling
Thu May 2, 7:30 PM ET
By MARIA SANMINIATELLI, Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia will not challenge a federal appeals court ruling allowing a Confederate flag to appear on specialty license plates, the state attorney general said Thursday.

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"It is time to move on. We don't anticipate that appealing to a higher court would bring any favorable result to the commonwealth," Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (news, bio, voting record) said Thursday.

A ruling Monday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) upheld a lower court's decision that Virginia's refusal to allow the Sons of Confederate Veterans (news - web sites) to create a plate with the flag logo was discriminatory and violated its right to free speech.

"There is a minority here in Virginia that has said that this plate is racist, and we have spoken time and time again," said Henry E. Kidd, state commander for the group. "This is nothing more than Virginians honoring their family - Virginians who gave their lives and sacrificed their lives on the fields."

Gov. Mark Warner said he supported the decision not to file an appeal that would likely fail, but cautioned that the Confederate flag "while a symbol of historical heritage to some, is offensive to many Virginians."

Two black state lawmakers, Sen. Henry Marsh (news, bio, voting record) III and Delegate Jerrauld Jones condemned the Confederate logo as offensive. However, they said in a statement: "We understand that an appeal is unlikely to succeed and could result in an opinion even worse for those who find the logo offensive."

Comments

  • .250Savage.250Savage Member Posts: 812 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Glad to see it. I'll be tarred as a racist, of course (that's what liberals always say when they want to silence their opponents). But why is it we spend so much time and jawbone honoring every culture EXCEPT white culture?

    I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.--Voltaire~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
  • beachmaster73beachmaster73 Member Posts: 3,011 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Given how most of you know how I feel about the Confederate flag thing I think this is a great way of expressing your beliefs. I believe the NAACP should go out and get their license plates and we can get an overall idea of which plates are more popular....Yeah salzo I know you're not believing I wrote this. Beach
  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Isnt it a tad absurd that a federal court would have to decide a state license plate issue? The states cant even decide for themselves what kind of license plates to have-they have to run to the federal government for "protection". You rebels should be ashamed of yourselves. The state of viRIGINIA, DECIDES through elected officials, THEY DO NOT WANT REBEL FLAGS ON LICENSE PLATEs, so you guys run to the Federal government to police your state of virginia, because you feel they(state of VA) are restricting your 1st amendment rights.
    JD is rolling in his grave.

    Happiness is a warm gun
  • smokinggunsmokinggun Member Posts: 590 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    beach - I'm impressed.

    salzo - I think it's been at least ten years that the SCV has been trying to get these plates approved. I guess sometimes you do what you have to. Remember, we lost the battle over state's rights. We would be more ashamed if we didn't get the liscense plates. If you come to Richmond you can drive down monument avenue and see all the Confederate Generals and the last statue you get to is Arthur Ashe. I don't have anything against Mr. Ashe, it's just that he doesn't fit in on Monument avenue and if it was up to him he probably wouldn't want to be there. It will be a sad day if they take down the Confederate statues one day to make certain people happy. Also if you go to the canal walk you can see a mural of General Lee in his dress suit, that's right, he had to have his uniform taken off to compromise with the offended. So you see, some things we're proud of and some things we're not.
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