As it turns out, the longest battle of the Civil War was not Gettysburg, or Marietta, or Yorktown.
For years, the Sons of Confederate Veterans has been fighting for a specialty license plate to celebrate “Confederate heritage.”
The group has met the state’s requirements for issuing a new plate. It has collected $60,000 in application fees and designed a marketing strategy. It has even found more than 30,000 good ol’ Floridians who intend to buy the plate.
The Florida Legislature has understandably fought to prevent it from becoming a reality. But last week, a federal judge in Orlando ruled in favor of the group, ordering the state to defend the constitutionality of its refusal.
We think there is no need for such a plate. Those who would buy it already drive jacked-up pickups, with mud tires and at least one giant Confederate flag blowing in the wind at all times. They get their point across just fine.
But if they want to go muddin’ in style, with not one, not two, but three Confederate flags on their license plates (yes, that’s the design), we say: Let ‘em.
It is not the state’s place to restrict any one group from expressing its message. If Florida rejects this plate on the grounds that it’s offensive, we will have to reject any plates that may be offensive — and that’s a pretty broad term. (How about “Choose life” — we’re offended by that one).
Vanity plates aren’t the state’s endorsement of an idea, but rather a reflection of what Florida residents want and think.
And if more than 30,000 Floridians want to perpetuate years of racism, bigotry and backward thought under the guise of celebrating “heritage,” the state can’t simply prevent them from doing so.
At least we’ll have one more sure sign of whom to avoid on the road (and whom to key in the parking lot).
