RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Tuesday that he will phase out a state-sponsored license plate featuring an image of the Confederate flag.
At an appearance in Richmond, the city that served as the capital of the Confederacy, McAuliffe (D) called the symbol “unnecessarily divisive and hurtful.”
The announcement comes in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of nine members of a historically African American church in Charleston, S.C., allegedly by Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white man who, according to police, wanted “to start a race war.”
It comes just one day after South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) called for the flag to be removed from the grounds of that state’s capitol — and the week after the Supreme Court ruled that Texas is free to reject a specialized license plate featuring the Confederate flag.
We all know that I am a creature of contradiction. This issue is no exception. I happen to think Terry McAuliffe is simply jumping on the band wagon. The targeted group here is a fairly revered group–Sons of Confederate Veterans. The one and only person I know who is a proud member is a man named Bob Perry. Bob is one of the kindest, most genteel gentlemen I know. He is one of the least racist people I have ever known. He honors his ancestors.
