Confederate Flag License Plate: Georgia Chooses To Re-Design Plates, Keeping Flag Intact

A Confederate flag license plate is causing a controversy in Georgia, with critics calling on the state to remove a symbol of a group that promotes the flag.

Georgia officially removed the Confederate flag from its state license plates this year after the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, that left nine people dead. But the new license plate still has the logo of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group that promotes the flag as a symbol of Southern heritage.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans has been able to get a special license plate for more than a decade and is keeping it even as other southern states have done away with it, the New York Daily News noted.

Not everyone was opposed to the Confederate flag license plate. Tim Pilgrim, the division adjutant for the Georgia Sons of Confederate Veterans, praised Georgia for not doing away with the flag even as other states did.

“This specialty tag is the most attractive license tag that the State of Georgia has to offer,” Pilgrim said. “I would encourage members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and all citizens of Georgia to ask for the newly designed Sons of Confederate Veterans specialty tag.”

The Confederate flag has long been seen as a symbol of oppression, marking the South’s fight to maintain slavery and state’s rights that ultimately led to the Civil War. Many states, including Georgia, moved to remove the flag after the June shooting in Charleston. Accused shooter Dylann Roof was seen in photographs with the flag, helping to turn the tide against the Confederate colors.

But supporters say it is an important symbol of their history and heritage, and many southerners have held fast to the Confederate flag amid the recent efforts to do away with it. In the wake of the shooting, NASCAR chairman Brian France declared that the flag would be banned at events and tracks, but many fans refused to comply.

At a race in Darlington, South Carolina, the flag was seen dotted across the infield as fans gathered to prepare for the Southern 500, the New York Times noted.

One fan, a man named Dennis Dease, wore a Confederate flag hat, shirt, and suspenders. He defended the flag.

“I mean, this is the South. It’s part of our heritage, and nothing they say can change that. You can fly it in your front yard, on your car, on your clothes, wherever you want to, and them trying to tell us we can’t fly it will only make us fly it higher. The flag doesn’t stand for racism or nothing like that. As long as these races come to the South, that flag will keep on flying.”

There are efforts to remove the Confederate flag license plate. A progressive group called Better Georgia released a petition calling for the state to remove “symbols of hate and division.” So far, close to 5,000 people have signed on.

[Picture by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]