NCDOT Sued Over Removal of Confederate Flag License Plates

RALEIGH – In the now perpetual effort of becoming ever Woker, the N.C. Department of Transportation suspended the issuance of specialty license plates featuring the Confederate battle flag.

Now they are being sued by the Sons of Confederate Veterans over the expedited move to suspend the plates.

From the Herald-Sun:

“[…] The Confederate organization says the move discriminates against its members who pay for a specialty license plate bearing the group’s logo, which includes an image of the red banner with crossed blue stripes flecked with stars.

More than 2,500 of the group’s specialty plates were in circulation at the start of the year, according to the Division of Motor Vehicles. As people go to renew their license this year, the DMV is notifying them that they cannot keep the plate with the Confederate emblem, said spokesman Steve Abbott. They are then offered a standard plate or a different specialty plate, Abbott said. […]”

While we’ve, unfortunately, become familiar with Cancel Culture, it’s always fun to examine the actual reasoning given for said cancellation. In this case, the NCDOT decided the Confederate flag plates had “the potential to offend” others. Seriously.

If that’s the standard, why not protect the feelings of Tar Heels who may take offense at a Duke specialty license plate? What about the animal lovers that have to endure the silhouette of a black bear? Not to mention the Ohioans inevitably incensed at the ‘First in Flight’ tag line…

What’s that you say? Just because it’s offensive to one person doesn’t mean that perspective supreme? Well, that’s what R. Kevin Stone, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans says:

“[…] “The Confederate Battle Flag is a symbol of our heritage,” Stone wrote in a statement released Monday. “Symbols can often have more than one meaning. To assume the Confederate Battle Flag is uniquely offensive is to validate only one viewpoint and thereby discriminate against others.”

Stone also accused NCDOT of dealing in bad faith with his organization. The department said in January that it had worked with the group to develop artwork for its specialty plate that did not contain the Confederate flag.

But Stone said NCDOT had not not “contacted me regarding any change in our organization’s official logo” until January, when it had already decided to stop issuing or renewing the plates. […]”

The lawsuit was filed in Lee County Superior Court.