The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Texas Department of Motor Vehicles must issue license plates with a confederate flag.
The lawsuit was brought by the Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The lower district court ruled the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board made a reasonable decision in rejecting the application for a plate displaying a Confederate battle flag.
“We disagree, and because the Board engaged in impermissible viewpoint discrimination, we reverse,” the court wrote in its decision.
So does “viewpoint discrimination” extend to the LGBT community? Will Texas be ordered to issue a gay plate with a Pride flag?
The decision was split. Two George W. Bush appointees were pro-Confederacy plate while a Ronald Reagan appointee was against.
While the majority opinion argued the plates are a form of free speech, Texas claimed the plates are issued by the state, so they are state property and government speech. And Texas didn’t care to promote the Confederacy.
