Supreme Court upholds Texas' right to ban Confederate flag license plates

confederate flag
(Image credit: iStock)

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision on Thursday that Texas is within its rights to prohibit a controversial Sons of Confederate Veterans license plate featuring the Confederate army's battle flag.

Texas' specialty plate program counts as government free speech, the court ruled, meaning that an individual's First Amendment rights do not prohibit the state from rejecting designs of a person's choosing. Texas, along with 11 other states, suggested that First Amendment challenges do not apply to government-issued license plates. Drivers can use bumper stickers or decals to express their messages instead.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.