Overview
- Virginia’s new law, signed this week, removes state property tax exemptions for several named nonprofits including the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust.
- The change means those groups will now owe Virginia property taxes on real estate they own.
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger also approved a separate measure that stops production of specialty license plates featuring Robert E. Lee.
- Legal commentators at Reason and by Jonathan Turley argue the law targets viewpoints and could face First Amendment challenges for conditioning a government benefit on ideology.
- Supporters, including bill sponsor Del. Alex Askew, call the move a corrective step to distance the state from Confederate veneration, while right-leaning outlets like The Federalist denounce it as punitive and Raw Story spotlights that backlash.