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End fee for Gold Star tags

Friday, November 21, 2008


South Carolina apparently has a license to confuse its citizens. Why else would someone whose son was killed in Vietnam pay $30 to remember him with a special Gold Star Family license tag when World War II veterans and their spouses get special WWII tags for free?

It is appropriate that Purple Heart tags are free. So are Medal of Honor tags and Prisoner of War tags.

But as a recent letter to the editor pointed out, and another letter today laments, those families who lost sons, daughters, fathers or sisters in service have to cough up an extra $30. It doesn't seem right. Gold Star Family tags are free in Georgia, and Gold Star Families founder Debbie Rivers says she thinks they should be free in South Carolina, too. She has tried to get traction on this issue with the S.C. Legislature, so far without success.

One could make an argument for not allowing specialty tags at all. But South Carolina has approved them — and we have them in abundance. NASCAR and The Citadel; Rotary International and Choose Life; golf, fishing, pet shelters and shagging.

Given that, it is altogether appropriate that South Carolina honor those who have served this country in defense of its freedom. It would be unacceptable to ask Purple Heart recipients to pay for tags that acknowledge their sacrifice and thank them for it. Or those who have received the military's most distinguished Medal of Honor.

It is also unacceptable to charge a fee — even just $30 — from families who have already paid for our freedom with the lives of their loved ones.



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