Fifth Circuit Court Rules That Texas Cannot Ban Confederate Flag License Plates

Via Raw Story:

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Texas could not prohibit a group that celebrates the Confederacy from having their own specialty license plates. The federal appeals panel ruled 2-1 that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board engaged in “viewpoint discrimination” and violated the First Amendment by rejecting the Sons of Confederate Veterans application for license plates featuring the Confederate battle flag.

The board rejected the proposed plate by an 8-0 vote in 2011, saying that members of the public found the Confederate imagery to be offensive. The board explained in its resolution that “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.” But the federal appeals court said the board could not discriminate against particular viewpoints because the public deemed them to be offensive.

Similar plates are currently available in most southern states.