The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to take a case involving Texas’ denial of a specialized license plate to the Sons of Confederate Veterans who petitioned to have a Texas license plate emblazoned with the Confederate Battle Flag that many regard as a symbol of the South’s racist past.
The Dallas Morning News reports:
“A state motor vehicle board rejected the application because of concerns the Confederate flag would offend many Texans who believe the flag is a racially charged symbol of repression. But a panel of federal appeals court judges ruled that the board’s decision violated the group’s First Amendment rights. Texas offers more than 350 specialty plates, the group said in its court filing. They include plates that say “Choose Life,” “God Bless Texas,” “Fight Terrorism,” as well as others in support of Boy Scouts, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, blood donations, pro sports teams and colleges. The state said in its Supreme Court appeal that the decision to reject the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ license plate was not discrimination because the motor vehicle board had not approved a license plate expressing any view about the Confederacy or the battle flag.”
The case absolutely raises First Amendment issues regarding whether the state can award some groups a specialized plate while denying the plate to others because of their political or other beliefs. For example, could the fundamentalist Mormons petition for a plate that calls for legalization of “plural marriage”? Or could the Reconquista movement petition for a plate calling for the return of Texas to Mexico? The matter of line-drawing in First Amendment cases is never easy. Which makes one wonder why the Supreme Court agreed to hear this case after rejecting similar appeals from other states.
Paradise in Hell 