![\"Terry](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/mcauliffe1.jpg?resize=150%2C194\")
McAuliffe’s decision comes on the heels of efforts in South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds following a racially motivated shooting that left nine dead in a Charleston church.<\/p>\n
It also follows a Supreme Court decision last week that ruled states can censor messages on license plates.<\/p>\n
“Although the battle flag is not flown here on Capital Square, it has been the subject of considerable controversy, and it divides many of our people” McAuliffe said in a statement. “Even its display on state-issued license tags is, in my view, unnecessarily divisive and hurtful to too many of our people.”<\/p>\n
![\"Virginia\"](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/virginia.jpg?resize=300%2C198\")
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002 ruled that the Confederate Flag could appear on the plates after a court battle launched in 1999 by The Sons of Confederate Veterans.<\/p>\n
Adds The Roanoke Times<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n McAuliffe said today that the Attorney General’s Office will take steps to reverse the prior court ruling in Virginia and the Department of Transportation will develop a plan for replacing the existing plates as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Currently, nearly 1,600 Virginia automobiles carry the plates.<\/p>\n The post Virginia Governor Orders Removal of Confederate Flag from License Plates<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n