Confederate License Plate Free speech or a rebel yell? The Supreme Court will settle the fight between Texas and a Southern heritage group over having a Confederate battle flag license plate WASHINGTON — Texas wanted to join the Confederacy so badly in 1861 that it kicked a reluctant Sam Houston out of office to pave its way to secession. Now the state is fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep the Confederate battle flag off its license plates. Justices will hear arguments Monday in a case that stands either for the right of Americans to speak freely, even if they offend others, or for the right of Texas officials to keep such messages off government-issued plates. The court will decide by early summer. But the legal showdown between the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the Sons of Confederate Veterans has rekindled an older, more deeply felt debate. Next month marks 150 years since Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Palm Sunday surrender at Appomattox, and the country still is asking whether it’s possible for Southerners to wave the battle flag of their forefathers without reminding others, especially African-Americans, of the legacy of slavery. “I have a heritage, too,” said Texan Frank Johnson of Cleveland, a leader of the veterans group that wants the customized tag. “My family fought for the South, and I’m proud of what they did. This is important because of them, and I have a right to stand up for them and insist my heritage isn’t trash.” But even free speech has limits, said Texas NAACP president Gary Bledsoe. “It’s not just making a statement about the Confederacy,” he said of the plate’s Civil War-era symbol. “This puts it in our eyes and exalts white supremacy. Let’s put it on the table: That’s what this flag stands for.”

Frank Johnson, a life member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, places Confederate battle flags on the grave sites of Confederate soldiers at New Montgomery Cemetery in Montgomery north of Houston. Johnson and the Sons of Confederate Veterans have fought for the right to put that emblem on vanity Texas license plates. The case will go to the Supreme Court next week. (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer)

For all the raw emotions, the Texas case is likely to come down to legal niceties. The justices will decide who has final control over the message on a specialty license plate — the government that sells it or the motorist who chooses it. And the outcome could go far in settling other conflicts between regulating speech and free expression, beyond the generally accepted bans on vanity plate profanity. At stake instead are broader government practices, such as releasing “Choose Life” license plates opposed by abortion-rights advocates. The Sons of the Confederate Veterans flag proposal has been hanging around since at least 2009, a full two years before the DMV board voted 8-0 to reject it. The group sued, arguing that the state was violating its free speech rights under the First Amendment. It said that because Texas promotes a specialty program that charges extra for tags sponsored by organizations to gain attention and raise money, the state must maintain a “neutral viewpoint” on content. “The state cannot open a forum for speech and then deny access to that forum on the basis of viewpoint,” said the group’s attorney, R. James George Jr. “‘Offensiveness’ is not a permissible standard to restrict speech.” Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, representing the DMV, said it wasn’t censoring private speech. It was exercising valid discretion over state property used to identify vehicles, with authority to restrict offensive images, he said. The “notion that the Constitution requires states to maintain viewpoint neutrality when deciding whether to issue specialty license plates is unworkable and leads to absurdities,” the state said in its petition to the Supreme Court. Confederate backers are free to display the battle flag in more prominent ways — from bumper stickers to car-sized paint jobs — but the state should not be forced “to place its imprimatur” on a symbol that many find racially demeaning, said Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller. The state won in federal court, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with the veterans group. Texas then appealed to the Supreme Court.


Tangled Texas history The push for the rebel flag plate — now available in nine other, mostly Southern states — has been marked by a tangled history in Texas. The Tennessee-based historical preservation organization won lawsuits in at least two other states to get approval of its plates. Johnson, currently aide-de-camp to the Texas division’s commander, said the idea here began with modest intentions. “Initially for us, it was just a fundraising thing” to help pay for memorials to honor Confederate soldiers, said Johnson, a part-time worker at a marketing agency. “It wasn’t really a big deal.” But he said the group’s executive committee felt abused by what it considered a tortured process — including DMV board meetings in which critics denounced the flag as an ugly reminder of slavery. “They were turning this into an extremely biased situation, and we had to defend ourselves,” he said. The flag idea in 2009 was approved, then rejected by a state Transportation Department advisory panel. When the Legislature created a standalone DMV, its new chairman, Victor Vandergriff, gave the group another chance. Do these plates offend you? Texas offers dozens of specialty license plates sponsored by charities, sports teams, colleges and others as a way to gain visibility and raise money. Over the years, the state rarely has rejected such requests, giving it a broad inventory that includes the Austin-based Mighty Fine Burgers’ chain and a Christian youth ministry whose tag with three crosses reads “One State Under God.” University of Oklahoma fans can buy crimson-infused Texas plates. Hunters can get theirs emblazoned with a deer skull and giant antlers. Abortion opponents can pick a “Choose Life” tag. Texas A&M University Proudly display your support for the Aggies with this maroon and white plate, but be careful around Austin. A portion of the proceeds benefits Texas A&M University and scholarships.

University of Oklahoma Support for your favorite college isn’t limited to Texas universities on your Texas plate. A portion of the proceeds benefit University of Oklahoma.

Mighty Fine Burgers Mighty Fine is one of a handful of companies that won approval to have their logo embossed on Texas plates.

Calvary Hill The Calvary Hill license plate represents a Christian youth ministry, whose tag with three crosses reads “One State Under God.” A portion of the proceeds benefits at-risk Texas children.

Texas Trophy Hunters Association Hunters can display their passion for the outdoors, but is this offensive to animal lovers? A portion of the proceeds benefit the Texas Trophy Hunters Association.

Choose Life A portion of the proceeds from this pro life plate goes to qualified organizations that provide counseling and material assistance to pregnant women considering placing their children for adoption. “I suggested that we just bring it back and look at it again,” said Vandergriff, an Arlington businessman and appointee of former Gov. Rick Perry. “Instead of the issue going to an anonymous group of TxDOT employees, we would bring it straight to the board.” The board deadlocked on a 4-4 vote. The measure returned in November 2011 as Perry’s Republican presidential campaign was in high gear — and under intense scrutiny. This time, the board unanimously rejected it. Just weeks before the vote, Perry told reporters he opposed the plate. “We don’t need to be scraping old wounds,” he said. A Perry spokeswoman said the former governor stands by those comments. Vandergriff said Perry never bent his ear about it. By the time it came up again, interest had soared and the meeting was packed with speakers. Among them: the NAACP’s Bledsoe, who told the board that the plate was an insult — and a provocation. Had the Sons of Confederate Veterans merely been intent on honoring their ancestors, he said, they would have chosen the original flag of the Confederacy — the less well-know flag called the Stars and Bars.

Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe says the Confederate battle flag should not be allowed on a state license plate. “It’s not just making a statement about the Confederacy,” he says. “This puts it in our eyes and exalts white supremacy. Let’s put it on the table: That’s what this flag stands for.“ (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer)