Confederate Flag May Soon Appear on Vanity License Plates

The Confederate flag is one step closer to being featured on some Florida license plates, after a federal judge ruled the state's process for approving specialty plates unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge John Antoon sided with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, ruling that a state law allowing the legislature to approve specialty plates violates the group's First Amendment right to free speech.

Confederate Flag May Soon Be Featured on Florida License Plate

florida-scv.org

Confederate heritage specialty sample license plate.

The Florida branch of the Sons of Confederate Veterans sued the state after its 2008 application to approve a "confederate heritage" plate was denied by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and then permanently stalled in the state legislature.

The license plate features the Confederate flag, coat buttons worn by Florida's Confederate soldiers and the phrase "Confederate heritage." The group had raised the required $60,000 application fee and collected the signatures of more than 30,000 Florida residents who said they might be interested in buying such a license plate.

Florida Sons of Confederate Veterans Commander Douglas Dawson praised the judge's decision and said the application process was clearly unfair. "It was viewpoint discrimination," Dawson told AOL News in a phone interview today.

Antoon agreed, calling the process "unconstitutional to the extent it grants the Florida Legislature discretion to decline approval of an application for a specialty license plate based on the sponsor's viewpoint," according to the Orlando Sentinel.

His decision paves the way for the Sons of Confederate Veterans to reapply for the plate. Not that the group will reveal its game plan. "There ain't no general that's gonna share his battle plan. And I ain't talkin'," Dawson said, echoing similar statements he's made in the past.