Judge rules VA can remove Confederate Flag from license plates

DANVILLE (July 31, 2015)-Today in federal district court in Danville, Judge Jackson Kiser ruled from the bench that he will dissolve his 2001 injunction that had allowed the Sons of Confederate Veterans to place the confederate battle flag on certain specialty license plates in Virginia.

Kiser’s ruling will not be official until he enters his order, which will also address whether the decision will apply prospectively to new license plates, or retroactively to include existing ones, according the Attorney General’s office.

The request will be opposed by attorneys representing the Southern heritage group.

The arguments Friday are likely to focus on the Supreme Court decision rather than philosophical or political views swirling around the rebel flag.

He described the flag as “unnecessarily divisive and hurtful” and said he’ll work with Attorney General Mark Herring and the Department of Motor Vehicles to remove it. The state argued that the symbol was offensive to a “significant portion” of the public, but the move was subsequently challenged in court.

Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee each had license plates with some form of Confederate emblem when the high court ruled. He said McAuliffe’s action to banish the flag was a “knee-jerk” reaction.

The suspect in the shootings had been photographed posing with a Confederate battle flag. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

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