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Governor McCrory Says NC Shouldn't Offer Confederate Flag License Plates

N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles

Governor Pat McCrory says North Carolina should get rid of one way it displays the Confederate flag: on specialty license plates.

In uptown Charlotte, Governor McCrory praised the efforts of South Carolina leaders to remove the Confederate flag from their Capitol grounds.

"I think Governor Haley has done the right thing," he said. "It was a courageous decision, but it was a decision that needed to be made."

The Confederate battle flag does not fly at the North Carolina Capitol. But the state does issue specialty license plates with the Confederate flag on them.

Now McCrory is asking lawmakers to change that. His spokesman points out the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that Texas can reject such specialty plates. The justices said they count as government speech, so states can control the message however they want.

McCrory joins Virginia's governor in calling on lawmakers to get rid of Confederate flag license plates. South Carolina also offers them, and so far, Governor Haley has not said whether that should change.

(Correction: an earlier version of this story said the Confederate flag does not fly at the N.C. Capitol. While the Confederate battle flag does not fly there, another flag that represented the Confederacy does fly twice a year on Confederate holidays.)