Legislative candidate petitioning to remove Confederate flag from license plates (LA)

Posted: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 6:13 pm
Updated: 11:23 pm, Wed Jul 22, 2015.
Zoe Gauthreaux
Posted on Jul 22, 2015

... Baton Rouge Organizing executive director Shamaka Schumake has taken the debate a step further in Louisiana with an online petition calling for Gov. Bobby Jindal and legislative leaders to begin phasing out a Confederate flag license plate option, available since 1999, referred to as the Sons of Confederate Veterans specialty plate, which is offered in the state.

Although Schumake said she believes the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate and intolerance, according to the petition website, the petition itself is not designed to protest the controversial symbol, but rather its presence within government.

“As a representation for an ideology of violence and discrimination, having that being state sanctioned, by using it as a license plate emblem, <the> state sanctions those ideas — even if that was not the intention,” Schumake said. “I think that’s problematic” ...

Schumake is a candidate running for State Representative of District 70, East Baton Rouge Parish ...

http://www.lsureveille.com/daily/legislative-candidate-petitioning-to-remove-confederate-flag-from-license-plates/article_46187d68-30c7-11e5-89b7-8fb0711cd129.html