“I am not taking it off and I won’t take it off.”

That is what Suffolk, VA resident Kevin Collier said to a news crew when asked about his refusal to give up his expired Confederate flag license plate–and he isn’t the only one taking a stand. Collier is just one of many in the state refusing to relinquish expired tags in response to a new state law banning the plates.

Virginians are refusing to give up recalled license plates featuring the Confederate flag http://t.co/QzvFCRnpML pic.twitter.com/zRGXemIXIG

— Intl. Business Times (@IBTimes) October 19, 2015

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced plans to begin phasing out the plates in June, after a Supreme Court decision determined that specialty plates are a “form of government expression” and therefore aren’t subject to First Amendment protections.

As a result, in August approximately 1,600 people still using specialty plates with the Sons of Confederacy emblem were sent newly designed plates by the Department of Motor Vehicles, and were given until October 4 to comply before their current tags became invalid and subsequently illegal. So far only 187 plates have been returned to the DMV.

Virginia’s push to abolish plates bearing the Confederate flag was a direct result of the June shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina that left nine African-Americans dead. The horrific attack reignited pleas to ban the flag once and for all after Facebook photos of the 21-year-old shooter, Dylann Roof, showed him posing with Confederate flags. Roof is said to have targeted the church hoping to incite a new “civil war.”

However, despite the flag’s roots in slavery, those in favor of keeping it around maintain that it is a symbol of their heritage rather than a symbol of hate. Collier said,

It wasn’t about hate, it was a battle flag, a battle flag that we fought for. It had nothing to do with hate, and nothing to do with racism.

He then added.

I was born a 150 years too late because I would have loved to have fought for the Confederacy like my ancestors did, but at least I can fight how I can in modern times. I will fight however I can.

But, it’s hard to argue that a flag isn’t racist when one person coming to its defense claims they would have gladly fought for the side advocating for the continued enslavement of African-Americans.

According to a Charleston NBC affiliate, the DMV tried to work with the Sons of Confederate Veterans on the design of the new plate, but the organization did not respond. Now any violators choosing to still drive vehicles with the canceled plates could face a misdemeanor and a hefty fine. But is fighting for a racially offensive “heritage” really worth breaking the law? These Virginia drivers will soon be finding out.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The Supreme Court has agreed to look at an interesting First Amendment question–can those silly vanity license plates that a lot of people have be considered protected free speech? SCOTUS will hear Walker vs. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc in the spring.

The case came from Texas, where an organization called the Sons of Confederate Veterans requested a specialty plate. The license plate included a Confederate flag, as well as text of the group’s name. The Texas DMV considered the request, and eventually decided to reject it because:

A significant portion of the public associate the Confederate flag with organizations advocating expressions of hate directed toward people or groups that is demeaning to those people or groups.

There are two questions here–are license plates a form of free speech? And if so, whose free speech?

The reason those two questions are both so tantamount is because if license plates are a form of free speech, but that speech is the state’s, the state can reject an offensive license plate request because it doesn’t want to be portrayed that way. However, if the license plates can be considered the free speech of the people who are displaying them on their cars, it’s a different matter altogether.

There’s some precedent to suggest that license plates are government speech, not citizens’. After all, a DMV can choose to reject a license plate request if it’s lewd or inappropriate. That being said, there’s some precedent to show the opposite is true as well. In 1976, there was a Supreme Court case called Wooley v. Maynard. If you’ve ever seen a New Hampshire license plate, it prominently features the state’s motto: “Live Free or Die,” a throwback to Revolutionary War times. A man named George Maynard, who was a Jehovah’s Witness, objected to being required to display the motto because it stood contrary to his religious beliefs. He obscured it, despite the fact that was against the law. The case was appealed all the way to SCOTUS, who ruled that New Hampshire couldn’t require citizens to display the motto if it stood contrary to their beliefs.

There’s another case this year dealing with free speech and license plates that’s sort of intertwined. It’s called Berger v. ACLU and it originated in North Carolina. It regarded whether or not North Carolina could issue “Choose Life” license plates, as requested by a pro-life group, without similarly offering a comparable pro-choice plate. That was where the case was left, and while the Supreme Court took no action on it right now, it may be decided along with the Texas case. Either way, whatever the Supreme Court decides could have a big impact on those vanity plates we all see so often–and not necessarily in a good way.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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