Story highlights Georgia Court of Appeals hears arguments over the legality of the state's denial of an Adopt-A-Highway application for a KKK chapter

Georgia says participation in program was an instance of government, not individual, speech

Atlanta (CNN) As some vestiges of the Old South -- symbols of heritage to some and of hate to others -- make their way from places of prominence to museums, a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan is fighting for its own spot in the public eye.

The Georgia Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday over the legality of the state's denial of an Adopt-A-Highway application for the International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 2012, the KKK chapter from north Georgia sought to "adopt" one mile of roadway. The Georgia Department of Transportation denied the Klan's application. Among Georgia's reasons was that "the impact of erecting a sign naming an organization which has long rooted history of civil disturbance would cause a significant public concern."

While the ACLU, an organization expressly dedicated to the defense of civil liberties, and the KKK, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as "the most infamous -- and oldest -- of American hate groups," might make for strange bedfellows, both said they saw the case as a matter of free speech.

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