- Proceeds from the sale of the tags will be used exclusively to promote opportunities for college students to study freedom and liberty at institutions of higher learning around the state.
Mississippians, by and large, love their freedom and are a patriotic lot, with faith, family and flag as their guiding values.
Soon, vehicle owners across the state will be able to show their affinity for liberty in these United States by displaying a Gadsden Flag car tag, proudly declaring “Don’t Tread On Me” just as the founding fathers did 250 years ago.
The Mississippi Legislature passed HB 920 during the 2025 legislative session which authorized the production and sale of the state’s first and only Gadsden Flag specialty car tag for Magnolia State vehicles.
Proceeds from the sale of the tags will be used exclusively to promote opportunities for college students to study freedom and liberty at institutions of higher learning around the state.
“These funds are going to be used to support freedom studies at universities and colleges around the state,” Dr. Steven Skultety told Magnolia Tribune on Wednesday. “This is part of a broader initiative to extend liberty education to all students in Mississippi.”
The effort is being led by the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi, which Skultety heads up as the Director of the Center. However, the goal is to encourage people all across Mississippi to take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate liberty and support freedom studies at their university or college of choice in the Magnolia State, not just at Ole Miss.
“More Mississippians should be thinking about the importance of liberty and freedom. We think that a lot of other issues get lots of attention and discussion and oftentimes freedom isn’t on the list of things to talk about,” Dr. Skultety said. “So, we see this license plate as a fun, interesting and kind of a provocative reminder that freedom is worth fighting for.”
Skultety said the car tag is a symbol of what the nation’s founders had to fight for and what we today must recommit ourselves to as we take up the mantle for America.
“They didn’t just announce these principles and everyone just nodded and said, ‘Sounds good to me,’ and just went with that,” he explained. “Freedom and liberty was something that required sacrifice, engagement, and ultimately a revolution, taking real risks. This flag is a way of reminding us of that, that you push around the United States at your own peril.”
The Gadsden Flag, which features a coiled rattlesnake with the words “Don’t Tread on Me” on a yellow background, dates back to the American Revolution when the nation’s founding fathers were fighting for freedom from Great Britain. It began as the personal ensign of Commodore Esek Hopkins, the first naval commander in chief for the United States, and became a rallying cry for many revolutionary fighters at the time.
To get a Gadsden Flag specialty car tag, Mississippians can apply to receive one of the first 300 tags provided for free to those who submit a request form.
Once the first free ones are assigned, any vehicle owner in Mississippi can buy the Gadsden Flag tag at their local county tax collector’s office.
