ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is warning that efforts to remove references to the Civil War Confederacy are nearing the point of no return.
Answering questions during a news conference on Thursday in Annapolis, Hogan said he supported recalling Maryland license plates with the Confederate flag image, but reviewing Civil War statues or digging up Confederate cemeteries was "political correctness run amok."
Last month's mass shooting at a historic African American church in South Carolina has been the catalyst for calls across the country for the removal of the Confederate flag from places of honor.
Supporters of the flag's removal point to the racist connotations of the flag, while others say it is a part of the country's history and removal would tread on free speech rights.
Virginia Lawsuit
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Southern heritage group says it is going to federal court to keep the Confederate battle flag on Virginia license plates.
The Virginia division and the national leadership of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said Thursday they want to stop the state from removing the image of the flag from the plates.
In June, Gov. Terry McAuliffe called the flag "unnecessarily divisive and hurtful" in saying he wanted to phase out the plate.
His announcement came after the mass killings of nine African-Americans inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a motion in federal court to vacate a court order that allowed the Confederate flag on state plates. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for July 31 in Danville.
