Confederate License Plate Gains Momentum
Friday, 04 Dec 2009
By TRACY JACIMORLANDO, Fla. – A group attempting to get the
Confederate flag on Florida license plates has scored a victory.
John Adams is a son of the Confederate Veterans in Florida.
"I have to pony up the 60-thousand dollars for application, what do they have to lose other than political capital over a controversial tag?" he says.
The group first proposed the controversial tag a few years ago, but it died in the House of Representatives.
"We see our ancestors as American Veterans, as American as Revolutionary War Veterans." "People would say, yes, but those soldiers were fighting for something we don’t believe in…part of that was slavery." "The soldiers were fighting for their country. The politicians may have had all sorts of motives but the soldier dug in the hole was fighting for his country and his home." Adams says.
Once the House denied the group, the Sons of Confederate Veterans filed a lawsuit. Recently, a judge denied the state’s request to drop that lawsuit so the battle rages on.
In order for any group to get a specialty plate, they must pay a $60,000 application fee, get Legislative approval and a sort of public approval first.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans had to show 30,000 people would buy this plate, but they actually got 45,000 signatures. Who likes this? We decided to find out for ourselves.
"I think it’s going too far…because of the history of the Confederate flag and what it stands for." said Dan Doody. While another person said "No…not really." when asked if the plate would bother them.
Nine other states have Confederate flag tags.
By the way, Adams says the Sons of Confederate Veterans would use the money raised from the tags for education, scholarships and the preservation of certain historical areas.
On The Web: www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/national/confederate_license_plate_120409