Two States and Their Plates: Virginia, West Virginia, Have Differing Experiences with Sons of Confederate Veteran Car Tags

[ami]

<font size="+0">Two States and Their Plates: Virginia, West Virginia, Have Differing Experiences with Sons of Confederate Veteran Car Tags</font>

July 15, 2002--West Virginia, which came into being as a result of the Civil War, is one of a dwindling number of states to refuse to issue "special interest license plates" bearing the logo of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Legal action may be forthcoming. There are differing explanations from state officials as to the reason for the refusal, but a group called the Rutherford Institute is not impressed.

The institute's legal coordinator, Ron Rissler, told the Beckley (WV) Register-Herald last week that if it can be proved that the refusal is due to state disapproval of the content of the logo, they may take the Department of Motor Vehicles to court.

"Is it because the plate is offensive or what? I believe that's what they're saying," Rissler noted. "That's not good enough. That's not constitutional."

The nonprofit institute, based in Charlottesville, Va., has won similar battles over the SCV plate in Maryland and Virginia, he pointed out.

"We've got [West Virginia] surrounded," Rissler laughed.

State SCV commander Terry Whittington of Smithers says DMV refused his group a plate on grounds SCV couldn't generate enough sales to justify its issuance - an argument he disputes.

"They told me they'd have to sell at least 100," he said. "That's not a problem. We can show them more than that. We still have approximately 300 members. You have to be a member in order to obtain a plate. You have to be able to prove you're a descendant of a Confederate veteran."

Another dispute is whether specialty tags require a specific act of the legislature to be issued, or if a law signed last year allows civic and educational groups to apply directly to the DMV for a specialty plate without legislative approval.

A bill authorizing an SCV plate was introduced last year by Sen. Bill Wooton, D-Raleigh, but he later withdrew the measure and apologized on the floor to fellow senators. The Senate Judiciary chairman called the measure, which he said he had offered merely as a courtesy to one of his constituents, "a lapse in judgment."

"We'd litigate this thing in a heartbeat, don't get me wrong. If we can determine that the plate is being prohibited, denied, because of its content, because of the flag, we will take the action that we took in Maryland and Virginia," Rissler said.

The proposed plate would feature the Confederate battle flag and three generals, including West Virginia native Stonewall Jackson.

The SCV's Whittington said he feels the state is discriminating against his organization over a misconception is couched in racism. The group sees itself as a historical society dedicated to the memory of its ancestors who fought in Confederate gray in the Civil War and nothing more.

The Rutherford Institute already thwarted an attempt in Maryland to rescind a 2-year-old plate after some lawmakers found it offensive over its inclusion of the Confederate battle flag. In Virginia, the same group successfully fought the state, both at the district level, then at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"West Virginia is in the Fourth Circuit," Rissler said. "So they better be careful."

Courtesy of:
Civil War Interactive: The Daily Newspaper of the Civil War
www.civilwarinteractive.com

[hoosier]

The states should never have started allowing those special interest license plates.

One of our Pennsylvania legislators remarked a few years ago that the number of different special interest license plate styles in Pennsylvania alone was getting completely out of hand. He vowed to put an end to it.

The result? His efforts were totally ineffective. New special interest plate designs just continue to proliferate without limit.

In our litigious society, if the government tries to tell anyone that there really isn't any need for a new license plate design, chances are they'll scream "discrimination" and file a lawsuit - and the state really doesn't need the expense and trouble of defending itself against all those lawsuits, so new plate designs just keep coming into reality.

Excuse me now - I have to go submit my design for a special interest license plate to honor Pennsylvania citizens having the same names as British musicians.