Confederate Virginia plates get court's OK

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - Virginia must allow a Confederate heritage group to display its flag logo on specialty state license plates, a federal appeals court ruled. <br> <br> The state&#39;s refusal to issue the plate because of its Confederate flag logo amounted to discrimination against the Sons of Confederate Veterans and violated the group&#39;s right to free speech, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. <br> <br> The court upheld a ruling by a lower court judge, rejecting the state&#39;s argument that the license plates constitute public speech and that the state had the right to regulate which groups and designs are allowed on plates that represent Virginia. <br> <br> ``The purpose of the special plate program primarily is to produce revenue while allowing, on special plates authorized for private organizations, for the private expression of various views,&#39;&#39; the three-judge panel said. <br> <br> Attorney General Jerry Kilgore had not read the ruling and had no comment, said his spokesman, Tim Murtaugh. <br> <br> Brag Bowling, first lieutenant commander of the Confederate group&#39;s Virginia division, said the case was a waste of taxpayers&#39; money. <br> <br> ``This is part and parcel of a much bigger picture and that is the suppression of Confederate symbols for politically correct reasons,&#39;&#39; Bowling said. <br> <br> ``We want to be treated like any other civic organization in Virginia. We&#39;re not the Ku Klux Klan.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Other courts have sided with the group in similar cases, and most states of the former Confederacy now offer the specialty plates, Bowling said. <br> <br> The group sued Virginia in 1999 after the General Assembly approved a plate for the organization but refused to allow the group&#39;s logo, which features a Confederate flag. Some legislators argued that the flag represents bigotry. <br> <br> In Virginia, the General Assembly must approve all specialty plates, but the Department of Motor Vehicle issues them only if at least 350 people sign up for them. <br> <br> Bowling said the group has the 350 signatures and would be able to start getting the plates right away if the state decides not to appeal.