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Maryland to Recall License Plates with Confederate Flag

sons of confederate veterans logo

BALTIMORE (AP) - Maryland likely will recall license plates with images of the Confederate flag this fall, now that a federal judge has agreed to lift a 1997 injunction that prevented the state from taking the plates out of circulation.

U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis issued an order Thursday that allows Attorney General Brian Fosh to lift the injunction. The order goes into effect Nov. 17.

Frosh says Maryland tried to recall the specialty tags in the 1990s, but a federal judge at the time ruled license plates were protected under the First Amendment. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that license plates were a form of government speech and could be rejected by states.

Owners of the Confederate plates will be contacted by the Motor Vehicle Administration about the recall.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.