Honk for Confederate pride

Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, has filed legislation to create a new license plate featuring the Confederate battle flag.

But the controversial nature of the flag and failure to establish a plate before makes for a difficult road to approval.

The plate, featuring four Confederate-era flags as well as buttons worn by soldiers, was designed by the Florida division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The group pitched the idea last year and got nowhere. The plate would cost $25 extra and proceeds would be used for education programs and graveyard restoration.

Florida, like other Southern states, has struggled over the image of the Confederate flag and the plate will surely stir controversy. In 2001, Gov. Jeb Bush discreetly removed the flag from the Capitol. His successor, Gov. Charlie Crist, has made inroads with the African-American community that sees the flag as an enduring symbol of racism.

"A lot of people are making a big issue out of it," Brown said. "But all we're doing is giving individuals the right to choose to make a statement about their heritage." That's no different, he said, than people who want to see Martin Luther King Jr's name grace street signs. Browns says he is one of them and has sponsored a bill to rename part of Highway 90 in Walton County after the slain civil rights leader.

A handful of other states have Confederate heritage plates, including Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Comments

You could buy one of the Armed Services plates already available and help support the veterans who are still alive.

Prior to the Civil War, what was that "Heritage?" Was it an agrarian oligarchy that was fighting their version of Globalization, i.e. the Industrial Revolution? The North was their China and they lost.

eliminate all vanity plates. it is getting out of hand.

What a Racist!

No way there should ever be a Florida tag displaying a racist symbol of our racist past.

And not just NO, But Hell NO!

I wish NW Florida would go ahead and become part of Alabama.

Should be a top seller in the panhandle. If you buy one of these plates do you get a discount on those chrome trailer hitch testicles?

Wow, what year is this? We're debating evolution, legislating droopy pants, things are dropping like rocks...Wake up all you rebel lovers...it's 2008, not 1863!

Really, how dumb are these people. The South LOST the Civil War, Thank God.
But, these whack jobs keep trying to devide us to this day. Get over it and move on. I am so ready for President Obama to lead our nation, but I worry about his safety because there are still so many racist around.

[hockeyjoker]

I am all for it. I have no problem with people choosing to identify themselves as inane bigots.

Yeah racists....like OBAMA....check out the stances of his church and who his "friends" support...there is your real racist...

The folks that would buy these have curtains in their pickup trucks, but not in their mobile home windows.

[tbpirate]

This is a bad idea. So is the idea of not remembering the past. The United States Civil War needs to be remembered for the lives that were lost over two conflicting ideals.

Learn and remember the past so it is not repeated but this is not the way to honor anyone. By the way I am 5th generation native of Florida.

Has 40ACRS 1MULE already been taken?

Still too soon?

How about LNCOLN RULZ for some irony?

[Tonka61]

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

hey 4:48 - learn how to spell "divide" it's not "devide" - every friggin post you write has the wrong spelling - i know it has to be the same person because i'm sure only one idiot would keep misspelling the same word day in and day out, week in and week out - whew, i feel better now

If you get one of these you better drive faster than a speeding bullet. It looks like a bullseye target in the middle of the tag.

[Senate District 2]

This vanity plate will be offered with an optional GED and meth starter kit.

[Frank]

Definitely put an end to vanity plates!!!! It's the only acceptable solution. Government issued license plates should not be a form of self expression. It's way out of hand. There should be 1 license plate for all of Floridians.

Will there be EZ installment payment plans for these?

[s jones]

So it is ok to celebrate black history month but not allow others to celebrate or memorialize their history? I would not have a problem with an MLK tag if it were proposed. So why the double standard? The tag look great to me.....sign me up for two!

[JTB]

if NW florida decided to secede right now, it would be fine with me.

I would not own such a plate, however the ignorance surrounding the Confedaracy is amazing. The issue at hand was not slavery, but state's rights, although slavery fell into that category. Many black Americans fought & died as part of the Confederacy with the belief of the indivudal state's right of sovereignty & governance over an over burdening federal government. Even had the South won the war, most historians agree that slavery would have been abolished. Why is it that free speech is only applicable to the "politically correct". The state will ultimately defeat this bill, & as time moves forward, we will as a country continue to erase American history.

[ricco]

WE NEED A PLATE COMMERATING "RAP" IT IS PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY.....

[buzios]

Obama = Osama!

Will the last true American patriot please turn out the lights and bring the flag with them. God help this country if Osama....I mean Obama...is elected.

[ricco]

"LARRY THE CABLE GUY" VANITY PLATE

[ricco]

THE KLAN IS ALIVE AND WELL IN FLORIDA.I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD GIVE A VANITY PLATE TO THE GOOD OLE BOYS...

[JTB]

"Obama = Osama!"

is that your idea of clever?

moron.

[Dee]

It is so ignorant to continue to suggest that Southerners were just fighting to keep slaves when the overwhelming majority of those fighting in the Confederacy did not own slaves. What would you do if your city, county or state were invaded by those such as General Sherman?

The states rights isssue was, is and remains the issue. Just keep whining about those unfunded Federal Mandates and lack of respect for the 10th amendment.

Should the stars and bars be part of state sponsored material or displayed as a Flag? That has been and could continue to be debated.

Are the anti-Stars & Bars crowd the same ones who are also often anti-Stars & Stripes too?

Are there those who have a genuine sense of historical perspective or have ancestors who died in the war and find it respectful of that to display the Stars & Bars who are not racists? Yes, not just Yes, but Hell Yes!

Now if you want to talk about racism and bigotry we can talk about NAACP, La Raza, KKK, Jewish Defense League, United Negro College Fund, Black Entertainment Network, Univision, Louis Farakhan, Barak Obama's minister and then there is this sick racist Jose Angel Gutierrez who said the following:

We are migrants, free to travel the length and breadth of the Americas because we belong here. We are millions. We just have to survive. We have an aging white America. They are not making babies. They are dying. It's a matter of time. The explosion is in our population. We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is that if the worst comes to worst, we have got to kill him." -- Jose Angel Gutierrez, Prof. Univ. Texas at Arlington, founder La Raza Unida Party at UC Riverside 1/1995

How about a vanity plate for our Mexican friends?

How about a license plate commemorating Operation Desert Storm (the most brilliant and successful US military maneuver ever).

5:10 nailed it!

If you don't opt for the meth starter kit, we'll go ahead and knock a few a yer teeth out.

Assuming you still have any.

[Not The Marlboro Man]

I'm going to rush out and get one just to piss off who ever don't like it, because its my right as an American to like what I want to like and express what I want to express and not to be told by some politically correct communist what to think. As soon as you socialism loving communists censor the Confederate flag (which by the way is not a symbol of racism) what next? Anything that had a suggested that it once belonged specifically to white people? I suppose you'll all want to begin to censor debutante balls and Olympic swimming. Any one can make anything they want become Racist and make any word they want become a racist premise, that's why its important to stand up against senseless unconstitutional censorship. Its time to grow up and face it people, that everyone can't live in this country without somebody being offended from time to time, that's just the way it is. So leave us alone and stop trying to censor our historical symbols. I know, why don't you just ban breathing, because it offends me and its racist too.

[Tom]

All the more reason to get rid of vanity plates Gov Crist. Let's aspire to the future , free of hatred and division , but united by the rule of law and decency.

[Tom D]

While we are at it the Countefeit flag is a symbol of treason by some states that did not support the United States of America and looked to foreign nations to help destroy it. I'd be real proud of that heritage. The KKK and the communist party have a heritage also , and all should be equally scorned.

[Robert E. Lee]

I'm not sure why Florida would want a Confederate plate. The state is predominately comprised of yankees, hispanics,europeans and illegals who could not possibly have the capacity to understand history nor have the common southern bond & pride for which our forefathers gave their lives. Yes the south lost the war....but a noble effort it was indeed.

Robert E. Lee

[Thomas]

Just wait until Obama wins the election. Whites will be without civil rights and the 1st amendment will be history!

You vote OBAMA...you get OSAMA

[J.Davis]

Greetings and Salutations Mr. Lee. Sir, I believe you're right. The Confederates are being discriminated today because of their heritage for which they have no control. They should be protected under the law like gays and blacks. I bet you can't believe America and our Beloved South has come this far. Brother In Arms. J. Davis

[steve]

I didn't know when I moved to Florida, I was moving into a twilight zone. Instead of wasting your time and money on dumb vanity plates why don't you put some of that money in the education system? Just last week the state finally allowed the teaching of science in science class. What??? For all those years was the answer to every question, God did it? Funny.

To the posters that wrote if MLK can get signs, etc. why can’t this...On one can’t hand you have something that symbolizes awful memories to 90 percent of America, on the other you have a man that was fighting to have equal rights. You people need to wake up. There may have been other issues prior to the Civil War. But, no one cares because of what we do know.

You people are ridiculous.

[john]

I was born in Manassas,Virginia.I'm proud to be a southerner,But I don't think I would ride around with that tag.It doesn't represent hatred to myself,its more like heritage,But alot of people see it that way,I think we are all here to stay so we might as well try to get along.to alot of people of color they find this offensive,I understand why.We don't need these kind of problems,we don't need that tag or any other tag thats going to affend a particular race.After all the only people that are true Americans are the Indians.

[John]

I think this plate stands an excellent chance of passing in both houses of the state legislature.

-John
www.patrioticactivist.com

[alan]

Brilliant idea. maybe it will offset the united negro college fund, thats not racist, what is?????

[Mark]

Great idea its about time!!!!!!!! Let the flag fly proudly!

"education programs"??

why not simply cut to the chase and feature a noose, burning cross and
hooded coward?

heritage my butt!!

owning other people
selling children from their families
maiming
lynchings
rapes
burning churches
etd., etd., etc.

HERITAGE!!

WHOSE????

Lets not forget all the facist out there that want to preserve their heritage too and want a swastika plate...IDIOT!

Oh wow I hope this passes b/c I don't have enough reasons to be embarrassed to live in the state of Florida. But hey, if these people want a giant target identifying them as the racists they are, by all means...

[BigYank]

I'd like to see a plate commemorating General Grant.

[Phil]

Confederates didn't fight for states' right. That's far too esoteric of an argument. They fought not because it was in their economic interests (since many didn't "own" slaves), but because they wanted to believe that they were superior to another race. Obviously I can't speak to the malicousness of Confederate solidiers. When you're raised to believe something, perhaps you don't know any better. Now we know better, and this license plate makes it tacitly seem as though belief is ok. Love you ancestors (they're my ancestors too) but find another way to acknowledge them.

[Bob]

Cue the banjos! Florida joins the buck-toothed, inbred, evolution-hating racist cracker contingent with this newest campaign to dumb-down and white-sheet up our state's culture.

Thank God for bigoted neanderthals like Don Brown. Who else works so hard to degrade our stature in the 21st century! Small wonder that Florida's daily news earns such a huge share of supermarket tabloid journalism.

Oh wow I hope this passes b/c I don't have enough reasons to be embarrassed to live in the state of Florida. But hey, if these people want a giant target identifying them as the racists they are, by all means...

[Senor T]

What chu talkin bout fo'? That plate is beautiful.

Just like Orenthawl James.

[Jim Johnson]

6:36

The Civil War didnt end slavery, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ended slavery. Dred Scott in 1857 determined slaves were not citizens and had no civil rights; the war couldnt change a Supreme Court ruling, and didnt.

The Emancipation Proclamation treated captured slaves as war prizes the government could dispose of as it wanted. Lincoln chose to free the slaves he captured, but the EP didnt apply in Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, or Missouri.

The war wasnt about slavery per se, but representation in Congress to decide vital economic policies that abused the South. Like the location of the transcontinental railroad and tariffs that restricted Southern commerce. Plus the distribution of pork.

When slaves were legally free few Southerners objected because they were no longer obligated to support non-workers like geezers and children.