Md. governor: Confederate flag battle nearing tipping point

(AP) – Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is warning that efforts to remove references to the Civil War Confederacy are nearing the point of no return.

Answering questions during a news conference on Thursday in Annapolis, Hogan said he supported recalling Maryland license plates with the Confederate flag image, but reviewing Civil War statues or digging up Confederate cemeteries was “political correctness run amok.”

Last month’s mass shooting at a historic African American church in South Carolina has been the catalyst for calls across the country for the removal of the Confederate flag from places of honor.

Supporters of the flag’s removal point to the racist connotations of the flag, while others say it is a part of the country’s history and removal would tread on free speech rights.