Confederate flag won’t fly on Texas licence plates

But OK on bumper stickers

The US Supreme Court yesterday said states can refuse to print images on vehicle licence plates to prevent symbols, such as the Confederate flag that’s seen by some as racist, from appearing to be government-sponsored.

The top court’s nine judges voted five to four against a request by a group in Texas to print a Confederate flag emblem on their licence plates.

The flag, which was flown over the southern states as they attempted to secede from the country during the Civil War, is considered a symbol of racism and slavery by many Americans.

The group wanted to have the logo printed, but Texas refused, arguing the flag would appear to be “government speech”. Four progressive judges, joined by conservative judge Clarence Thomas, agreed with the state.

Judge Stephen Breyer said: “A driver could just as easily express his message through a bumper sticker.

“Why would that driver want to place, say a flag, on the licence plate rather than on the bumper? Perhaps because placing it on the licence plate suggests at least to some that it is the state that is conveying the message that the flag embodies.”

SOURCE