Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles will begin recalling state-issued license plates that feature the Confederate flag.
The move comes after a federal judge dissolved a 2001 injunction Thursday that forced the state to put the battle flag on certain specialty license plates, like the Sons of Confederate Veterans plates.
The DMV said it will work the the heritage group to design a new flagless plate within the next 30 days.
For 14 years, the group had argued it had a First Amendment right to use the plates. But a July 31 ruling said that Virginia can once again enforce a state law banning the use of the flag on specialty plates.
The move also comes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Texas that said specialty license plates represent the state’s speech and not the driver’s.
Roughly 1,700 plates exist in Virginia featuring the Confederate flag.
Use of the rebel battle flag come under fire after 21-year-old Dylann Roof opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, killing nine. Roof, who has already been indicted on nine murder charges and one weapons charge, confessed to the shooting in hopes of dignity a race war. Photos of Roof posing with the Confederate flag triggered a national debate over its display.
(h/t The Virginian-Pilot)
