A Confederate memorial with flags and columns will soon stand on private property on Interstate 10 over objections from some local residents in the East Texas city of Orange.
The Beaumont Enterprise reports that the Sons of Confederate Veterans plans to raise 32 waving flags representing Texas regiments of the Confederate army. Thirteen columns for each Confederate state already stand at the site along Interstate 10, visible to drivers entering Texas from Louisiana.
While some residents complained about allowing the memorial to go forward, city officials said they could not have stopped the memorial without inviting a lawsuit.
Orange City Attorney Jack Smith said the city couldn't act even if "sometimes we don't like somebody's free speech."
Orange is 100 miles east of Houston.
___
Information from: The Beaumont Enterprise, http://beaumontenterprise.com
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.