License plates get their fair share of controversy. Most of the time regular Joes are to blame after issues arise due to inappropriate messages on vanity plates. A lot of people think they are sly by writing obscene message on plates and wind up getting their plate application denied.

Now the state of Georgia's Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division is coming under fire for a speciality license plate design it approved. The plate in question prominently features the confederate flag on it and is sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans group. Their mission is to uphold the honor of those who died for the South in the American Civil War. They also hope to spread "the truth about the Confederate battle flag."

But there's just one major problem. The South was fighting to preserve their way of life, which stemmed primarily, if not entirely, from slavery. Now slavery is as contentious a topic as any in this day and age. Even still, the Sons of Confederate Veterans are adamant that their speciality license plate design falls under the guise of free speech.

The groups spokesman, Ray McBerry, didn't back down when defending the use of the flag.

"We believe that everyone has the right to preserve their heritage," McBerry said. "Southerners have as much right to be proud of their heritage as anybody else."

And in the understatement of the decade, not everyone agrees with McBerry's position. Maynard Eaton, spokesman for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, pulled no punches in his statement.

"To display this is reprehensible," Eaton said. "We don't have license plates saying 'Black Power.'"

Whether or not the Confederate flag design should stay or go, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that releasing these tags would create a stir. So either Georgia officials knew they were going to drum up controversy or they were completely oblivious, which in that case, they shouldn't be working for the state.

When asked about "plategate," Georgia's Republican Governor Nathan Deal disassociated himself from the issue. 

"I hadn't heard that, so I don't know anything about it," Deal said. "I'll have to talk to them about it. I had no information in advance about it."

Are you tired of the confederacy being shoved down your throat? Let me know what you feel in the comments section below.