New York State has banned the sale and display of the "Battle Flag of the Confederacy," as well as "white supremacist" and "neo-Nazi" symbols.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill designed to eliminate what are defined as "symbols of hate." Any "tangible property" that includes these symbols is also banned, "unless the image appears in a book, digital medium, museum or serves an educational or historical purpose."
The law takes effect immediately and was nearly unanimously approved in the state legislature. It was sponsored by Bronx/Westchester Democrat Alessandra Biaggi in the Senate and Brooklyn Democrat Rodneyse Bichotte in the Assembly.
Some others are calling the ban an "unconstitutional" violation of free speech.
