But while Texas authorities were happy to issue plates commemorating US soldiers who have fallen in modern wars, they are not willing to stamp their badge on a plate which honours soldiers who fought for the Confederacy.
德克萨斯州政府乐于纪念那些在投身于现代战争中的美国军人，但并不想为一个表彰南方联盟士兵的车牌放行。

The state argues it is "fully within its rights to exclude swastikas, sacrilege, and overt racism from state-issued license plates that bear the state's name and imprimatur."
该州称自己“有权不发行与纳粹党十字记号、亵渎宗教和种族歧视有关的车牌。”

Opponents say this violates the free speech of the drivers who would select the license plate - a view upheld by the Court of Appeals.
反对者称，该规定违反了驾驶员们在选择车牌时的言论自由权，而上诉法院认同这种观点。

But the state counters that license plates are government property, on which the government can decide its own message - which would not breach the First Amendment.
但该州则反驳说车牌属于政府财产，政府有权决定车牌传递的信息，且这并不违反第一修正案。

At the heart of this case, then, is a simple question for the Supreme Court justices.
那么，对于最高法院的法官们来说，这个案子的核心就是一个简单的问题：

"Does my licence plate speak for me, or my state?"
“我的车牌是代表我，还是代表我的州？”

Vocabulary

bumper：保险杠

career：全速前进，猛冲

imprimatur：认可