Virginia governor moves to erase Confederate emblem from license plates
We do not know what the future holds for such things in Georgia, where several thousand people sport them on their vehicles. But Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Tuesday that he wants the Confederate battle emblem off specialty license plates in his state. From his press release:
“Although the battle flag is not flown here on Capitol Square, it has been the subject of considerable controversy, and it divides many of our people.
“Even its display on state issued license tags is, in my view, unnecessarily divisive and hurtful to too many of our people. virginiascv
“As you all know, I have spent the past 17 months working to build a new Virginia economy that is more open and welcoming to everyone. Removing this symbol from our state-issued license plates will be another step toward realizing that goal.
“While it is true that legislation passed by the General Assembly in 1999 requires specialty license plates for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the legislation specifically attempted to prevent the Confederate emblem from being part of the design. Federal court decisions, however, required DMV to allow the emblem in the design.
“Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could indeed prevent the confederate emblem from being placed on their license plates, directly contradicting the prior court rulings in Virginia. Accordingly, I have directed the following actions to remove the Confederate emblem from state-issued license plates. gatag
“First, this morning I asked the Attorney General’s office to take steps to reverse the prior Court ruling that requires the Confederate flag be placed on state license plates.
“Second, I have directed Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne to develop a plan for replacing the currently-issued plates as quickly as possible."
Our WSB Radio colleague Jamie Dupree sends word that the governor of Tennessee is of a like-minded opinion.
About the Author
Jim Galloway, the newspaper’s former political columnist, was a writer and editor at the AJC for four decades.
