~ From Commander Brandon Dorsey is this summary of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Federal Lawsuit

The Lawsuit: The Sons of Confederate Veterans hereby give notice of the intention to file a federal action against the City of Lexington, in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Virginia, Roanoke Division on Thursd…ay, January 12, 2012. The Sons are represented by the law firm of Strickland, Diviney, and Strelka of Roanoke which has worked in conjunction with The Rutherford Institute, a Civil Liberties organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Attorneys Thomas E. Strelka and Correy Diviney are serving as lead counsel.

Background and Merits: This case is to be filed by the Sons in reaction to the City Council of Lexington’s adoption of a flag and banner ordinance. The Sons assert that the ordinance was adopted due to the sole reason of the City’s disapproval of the Sons’ Constitutional rights to display historic Virginia state and Confederate flags. The Sons requested that these flags be hung for the annual observance and ceremonies for Lee-Jackson day in January, 2011. The Sons advised the City Council that it believed the adoption of the ordinance would be a violation of a 1993 Federal Court Order and Consent Decree. The Court Order was entered subsequent to a prior dispute between the Sons and the City over the public display of Confederate flags.

The Order, endorsed by a Judge of the Western District of Virginia, provides: “The City of Lexington . . . [shall not] deny or abridge the right of the plaintiff organization or its members . . . to wear, carry display or show, at any government-sponsored or government-controlled place or event which is to any extent given over to private expressive activity, the Confederate Flag or other banners, emblems, icons, or visual depictions designed to bring into public notice any logo of ‘stars and bars’ that ever was used as a national or battle flag of the Confederacy.” The federal action to be filed will further contend that the ordinance is a violation of the Son’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the Constitution.

The filing requests that the Court issue a Judgment against the City for equitable relief; find the City Council and officers to be of civil contempt; requests the awarding of attorney’s fees, costs and sanctions; requests compensatory, liquidated and punitive damages; and requests such other and further relief as may be just.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A black college student who drew complaints for displaying a Confederate flag in his dorm room window said he sees the banner as a symbol of Southern pride and not racism.

The 19-year-old student at the University of South Carolina Beaufort took the flag down at the university’s request, but he said he’s considering putting it back up after the officials relented. Byron Thomas has drawn nearly 70,000 views since he posted a video online in which he acknowledges: “I know it’s kind of weird because I’m black.”

In a telephone interview Thursday, Thomas said a class research project made him come to the belief that the flag’s real meaning has been hijacked. He said he wants people to thoughtfully consider issues of race and not just knee-jerk reactions to such symbols.
 
“When I look at this flag, I don’t see racism. I see respect, Southern pride,” he said. “This flag was seen as a communication symbol” during the Civil War.

He said university officials asked him to take the banner down just before Thanksgiving after students and parents complained when it was seen by them on campus tours, but have since told him he can put it back up.
 
The freshman from North Augusta said his generation can eliminate the flag’s negative power by adopting the banner as a symbol of Southern pride. “I’ve been getting a lot of support from people. My generation is interested in freedom of speech,” Thomas said. But Thomas says his parents don’t like the flag and he’s concerned about their point of view, particularly since they pay his bills. “I don’t want to make my parents mad,” he said. “I may wait until Monday to put it up.”

He said he’s unhappy about such things as labels, and he doesn’t like the term “African-American,” which makes him feel like “a half-citizen,” since he wasn’t born in Africa.

Thomas’ roommate Blane Reed, who is white, said in a separate telephone interview that he never heard any complaints after Thomas put the flag up shortly after Labor Day. Each student has a separate bedroom and share living space with three others, the 18-year-old from Walhalla, S.C., said.