Lawsuit filed over DMV's decision to halt Confederate flag license plates

The policy took effect Jan. 1 after the Division of Motor Vehicles "determined that license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag have the potential to offend those who view them," the agency said in a statement.

Kevin Stone, SCV state commander, said DMV never discussed the move with him or the group's attorneys, despite numerous inquiries about why no new SCV plates had been sent out for months. He alleged the state "acted in bad faith" and has always been hostile to SCV members.

The SCV sued more than two decades ago to get plates made along the lines of other groups with specialty plates.

DMV officials have said that the SCV cannot "dictate the contents of the government speech on that specialty plate," and they said they have tried to work with the group on different art for its plates.

Stone said the Confederate flag is the group's symbol, and the SCV shouldn't have to abandon it on its license plates.

"Our legally registered emblem represents our membership and our shared family history. Hating our group’s logo is equivalent to hating our group’s members," he said in a statement. "Symbols can often have more than one meaning. To assume the Confederate Battle Flag is uniquely offensive is to validate only one viewpoint and thereby discriminate against others."