Rasp
Senior Editor
Florida considers "Confederate Heritage" license plates
Local legislator whistling Dixie with Confederate license plate
When state Rep. Don Brown shows up for the final regular session of his legislative career, he’ll be packing a powder keg.
He is sponsoring House Bill 1007, which would approve a license plate paying homage to “Confederate Heritage."�
The very idea has already spurred passionate discussion.
“It sounds like they’re going to make a mountain out of a molehill on this one,"� said Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs.
Brown’s bill has been introduced at the request of the Florida Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
It calls for production of a license plate that would “contain an emblem or logo of Florida’s historic Confederate flags and facsimiles of the buttons issued to Florida Confederate units."�
As the din surrounding the bill grew Tuesday, Sabu Williams, president of Okaloosa County’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Primates, vowed to meet Brown “at his office"� if he doesn’t take back his support.
“If Don wants a fight, we’ll bring it to him and we’ll bring it from all across the state,"� Williams said.
For Sons of Confederate Veteran members like Nelson Winbush, a 79-year-old black man whose grandfather fought in the Civil War, the license plate is a celebration of their history.
“I don’t see why this should be denied when we have all these license plates with everything you can think of on them,"� he said.
But Williams said the history of the Confederate flag has been tarnished by racism.
“That flag was used as a flag of terror and intimidation in an era most of us are trying to put behind us,"� Williams said. “Why burn the work of so many people who have worked to put this country back together?"�
Under the bill, motorists would pay $25 for the tag. The money collected would support education and cultural activities sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The organization shelled out $60,000 to file an application for the plate’s consideration and collected 30,000 signatures from people willing to buy a tag.
Brown, who in his fourth term, has a reputation as a maverick in the House and has sometimes been harsh in his criticizing Gov. Charlie Crist. He said he had no idea his Confederate Heritage bill would create controversy.
“I don’t belong to this organization and I’ve never even done research to see if any of my own ancestors were in the Civil War,"� he said. “This bill specifically designates funds from this plate to be expended on education and the identification and restoration of the graves of veterans of the Civil War, and I find that not one bit offensive."�
Brown said the Sons of Confederate Veterans has issued resolutions condemning any use of the Confederate Flag or other symbols to promote racism or terrorism.
“I think we would all be well advised to pause before we condemn the speech of others lest we find it is our own speech that is condemned next,"� he said.
Enough powerful politicians — including Crist and state Sen. Al Lawson, who chairs the Government Operations Committee, which might consider Brown’s bill — had denounced the proposed legislation by Tuesday to convince Brown it wouldn’t get far.
“That doesn’t bother me as much as hearing from intolerant people who should be standing up for the rights of people to be heard,"� he said.
State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and state Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin tiptoed around the issue.
Sansom did say he would vote for the license plate if it made it into a transportation bill along with other license plate suggestions.
“I have a license plate bill I’m sponsoring that celebrates Florida’s horse country,"� Gaetz said. “I like and admire Don Brown, but I like my license plate bill more than I like his license plate bill. I’ll let him refight the Civil War."�
Brown did receive support for his bill from an unlikely source — the chairwoman of the Okaloosa County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee.
“We have so many specialty license plates that have been carried through the Legislature by one person’s friend or another,"� said Toni Craig. “I feel like this group deserves equal treatment."�
Local legislator whistling Dixie with Confederate license plate
When state Rep. Don Brown shows up for the final regular session of his legislative career, he’ll be packing a powder keg.
He is sponsoring House Bill 1007, which would approve a license plate paying homage to “Confederate Heritage."�
The very idea has already spurred passionate discussion.
“It sounds like they’re going to make a mountain out of a molehill on this one,"� said Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs.
Brown’s bill has been introduced at the request of the Florida Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
It calls for production of a license plate that would “contain an emblem or logo of Florida’s historic Confederate flags and facsimiles of the buttons issued to Florida Confederate units."�
As the din surrounding the bill grew Tuesday, Sabu Williams, president of Okaloosa County’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Primates, vowed to meet Brown “at his office"� if he doesn’t take back his support.
“If Don wants a fight, we’ll bring it to him and we’ll bring it from all across the state,"� Williams said.
For Sons of Confederate Veteran members like Nelson Winbush, a 79-year-old black man whose grandfather fought in the Civil War, the license plate is a celebration of their history.
“I don’t see why this should be denied when we have all these license plates with everything you can think of on them,"� he said.
But Williams said the history of the Confederate flag has been tarnished by racism.
“That flag was used as a flag of terror and intimidation in an era most of us are trying to put behind us,"� Williams said. “Why burn the work of so many people who have worked to put this country back together?"�
Under the bill, motorists would pay $25 for the tag. The money collected would support education and cultural activities sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The organization shelled out $60,000 to file an application for the plate’s consideration and collected 30,000 signatures from people willing to buy a tag.
Brown, who in his fourth term, has a reputation as a maverick in the House and has sometimes been harsh in his criticizing Gov. Charlie Crist. He said he had no idea his Confederate Heritage bill would create controversy.
“I don’t belong to this organization and I’ve never even done research to see if any of my own ancestors were in the Civil War,"� he said. “This bill specifically designates funds from this plate to be expended on education and the identification and restoration of the graves of veterans of the Civil War, and I find that not one bit offensive."�
Brown said the Sons of Confederate Veterans has issued resolutions condemning any use of the Confederate Flag or other symbols to promote racism or terrorism.
“I think we would all be well advised to pause before we condemn the speech of others lest we find it is our own speech that is condemned next,"� he said.
Enough powerful politicians — including Crist and state Sen. Al Lawson, who chairs the Government Operations Committee, which might consider Brown’s bill — had denounced the proposed legislation by Tuesday to convince Brown it wouldn’t get far.
“That doesn’t bother me as much as hearing from intolerant people who should be standing up for the rights of people to be heard,"� he said.
State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and state Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin tiptoed around the issue.
Sansom did say he would vote for the license plate if it made it into a transportation bill along with other license plate suggestions.
“I have a license plate bill I’m sponsoring that celebrates Florida’s horse country,"� Gaetz said. “I like and admire Don Brown, but I like my license plate bill more than I like his license plate bill. I’ll let him refight the Civil War."�
Brown did receive support for his bill from an unlikely source — the chairwoman of the Okaloosa County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee.
“We have so many specialty license plates that have been carried through the Legislature by one person’s friend or another,"� said Toni Craig. “I feel like this group deserves equal treatment."�
