For an extra fee, Texas will issue specialty auto license plates, but state law allows rejection of the request if "the design might be offensive to any member of the public." The Sons of Confederate Veterans $($TSCV$)$ asked the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board to issue a specialty license plate displaying a page $204$Confederate battle flag, but the request was denied citing the "offensive to any member of the public" standard. TSCV sued and the case reached the Supreme Court. See Walker v$.$ Sons of Confederate Veterans, $135$ S$.$ Ct$.2239(2015).$

Is a specialty plate private speech or government speech? Explain.

Were TSCV$\text{'}$s First Amendment rights violated? Explain.

The U$.$S$.$ Supreme Court and lower federal courts have repeatedly ruled that burning the American flag is speech protected by the First Amendment. Congress often considers a flag protection amendment to the Constitution to make flag