This piece originally appeared at on washingtonpost.com.
The 老澳门开奖结果 joined calls this month for the state of South Carolina to unhook the 鈥淪outhern Cross鈥濃�攁 Confederate battle flag鈥攆rom the flagpole at the state capitol and permanently remove the flag from the seat of its government. When the flag , we applauded. South Carolina, its governor, legislature and citizens got it right: making a decision, as a state, to change its message, and making that change via the democratic process.
But when the Supreme Court had its chance to weigh in on the Confederate flag debate鈥攁nd protect the First Amendment rights of Texans who wanted to display it on their cars鈥� license plates鈥攖he Court got it wrong.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles offers a 鈥溾�� program that allows individuals to personally design, produce, purchase and display a specialty message of their choosing. Currently, the state of Texas issues plates celebrating Texas realtors, the University of South Carolina (yes, really) and Dr. Pepper鈥攏one of which is an official message of the Lone Star State: They鈥檙e customized messages of, by and for private citizens. And when the state opens up a platform for private speech鈥攁s it has done here, to anyone who鈥檒l pay the required additional fee鈥攊t can鈥檛 pick and choose who gets to speak.
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