“This objectionable banner, which has never been the official flag of the Confederacy, is a symbol of hate, racial oppression, resistance to the rule of law, and white supremacy”, Assistant Minority Leader, Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of SC, said on the House floor before the vote.
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After a mass shooting at a SC black church past year, the state legislature ordered the flag removed from the capitol in Columbia.
The House of Representatives voted for an amendment Thursday to bar the Confederate flag from being flown at cemeteries operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. That measure failed with many Southern Republicans objecting to the measure.
The Confederate flag, also known as Stars and Bars, represented the Confederate States of America – an unrecognized confederation of slave-owning states in the south of the United States.
According to the Hill report, this time around the vote still faced sharp opposition from some Republicans in Ryan’s caucus. Opponents of the provision warn that it could open the door to discrimination against the LGBT community.
“This is not some procedural vote to be waved away”, Maloney said.
Since then, the House speakership has been assumed by Ryan (R-WI), who has said the Confederate flag “does insult”.
The underlying defense authorization ultimately passed later Wednesday night by a vote of 277-147. However, 84 Republicans joined the Democrats to ban the Confederate flag.
The VA cemetery measure is the second Confederate-related bill to come before the House in two days.
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“I am very pleased with the result of today’s vote to approve an amendment from my colleague Representative Jared Huffman to limit the display of confederate flags at national cemeteries”.
