Rick Perry Condemns Confederate License Plates

Rick Perry doesn't want to see the Confederate flag on Texas license plates, publicly declaring his position on the issue for the first time. The governor told an interviewer that granting the Sons of Confederate Veterans' request would be "scraping old wounds," the Wall Street Journal reports. Perry has previously defended the use of the Confederate flag in his state.

Perry's opposition to the plates "is just his personal belief," a spokeswoman for the governor. "He still believes this a matter for the Department of Motor Vehicles to decide." The Texas DMV board—appointed by the governor—deadlocked in a previous vote on the plates and will vote again in a few weeks. "It sounds like politics," complained a former Sons of Confederate Veterans commander. "I certainly hope our plate will be approved, because the proceeds from that project will allow us to do much more to memorialize those who fought for Texas and the South." Perry also declared yesterday that he has no doubt that President Obama is a US citizen. (More Rick Perry stories.)