MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – A national group is now calling on South Carolina and other states to suspend Confederate flag plates.
In a recent statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, urged the State of Palmetto, as well as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Virginia to prohibit Confederate images from being displayed on new plates.
“No state should promote a symbol of traitors who sought to perpetuate slavery and white supremacy,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national director of communications for CAIR. “Each time a Confederate flag is placed on a state board, it is a tacit endorsement by the state of racism.”
The statement came after South Carolina’s Democratic minority leader, Deputy Todd Rutherford, introduced a bill banning the Confederacy’s battle flag from newly issued plates to members of the Confederate Veterans’ Sons.
Special plates are issued for a period of two years at the cost of a $ 30 fee in South Carolina, a portion of which goes to civic organizations like the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Since January 12, the Rutherford project has been referred to the South Carolina House of Education and Public Works Committee.
The North Carolina Motor Vehicles Division recently announced will no longer issue special dishes with the flag. The state also said it will continue to recognize the Children of Confederate Veterans as a civic organization.
The CAIR statement also refers to a 2015 Supreme Court decision, which states that a state can reject plates with the Confederation flag because they are considered government speech.
Soon after, Maryland removed the plates, while Virginia began to present an alternative design for the flag.
Copyright 2021 WMBF. All rights reserved.