Lawmaker backs latest push for Confederate license plate in Texas

The Sons of Confederate Veterans are proposing a new license Texas license plate featuring a confederate soldier. >>Check out the license plates recently rejected by the Texas DMV... The Sons of Confederate Veterans are proposing a new license Texas license plate featuring a confederate soldier. >>Check out the license plates recently rejected by the Texas DMV... Photo: Courtesy Of The Texas Department Of Motor Vehicles Photo: Courtesy Of The Texas Department Of Motor Vehicles Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Lawmaker backs latest push for Confederate license plate in Texas 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is sponsoring a proposed Texas license plate that glorifies Confederate soldiers to help raise money for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, continuing a more than decade-old debate over establishing a novelty plate to benefit the group.

The new design includes a rebel soldier clad a in gray Confederate uniform carrying a Texas regiment’s special flag. The license plate design does not include the Confederate battle flag.

As first reported by the Dallas Morning News, Miller wrote a letter in support of the license plate design and, as Agriculture Commissioner, offered to sponsor the plate. He told the paper, “I couldn’t see anything offensive about it.”

The Sons of Confederate Veterans have long sought to establish a license plate, an effort that dates back to 2007. Its first design featured the Confederate battle flag and drew critics who said the plate was offensive. The state rejected that design, a decision the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in 2015.