“It’s about the people of South Carolina who have demanded that this symbol of hate come off of the Statehouse grounds”, she said.
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The shootings triggered a nationwide call to remove the Confederate battle flag that has flown atop South Carolina’s capitol building or at a memorial on the grounds since 1961 – after photos of the accused killer surfaced holding a similar battle flag. It had seemed simple enough – once the House signed off, it would go to Gov. Nikki Haley. The legislation has already been passed by the state Senate, and today Gov. Nikki Haley signed the bill into law.
Despite having supported a move to remove the Confederate flag from specialty license plates issued by the state, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is pushing back against efforts to change or remove official state symbols that have Confederate ties, including the state flag and state song. They threw down proposed amendments to the bill that led debate to drag on more than 12 hours.
After spending almost four decades waving atop the Capitol dome, and an additional 15 years greeting passers-by up close at the intersection of Gervais and Main streets, the controversial emblem of South Carolina’s racial divide is coming down. “I would like to think that my remark helped change the course of the debate”.
The NAACP announced its statewide boycott when the flag was in front of the Statehouse in 2000.
Rep. Jeffries called the flag’s red coloring “a painful reminder of the blood that was shed by African-American slaves who were beaten, raped, lynched and killed here in America as a result of the institution of slavery”. The flag’s furling could bring closure to a debate that has drawn national attention in recent weeks and a number of protesters and rallies to the Statehouse lawn.
After the South Carolina church shooting, Burke felt he should replace his USA Marine Corp. flag with the battle flag.
The vast majority of NCAA championship sites have been determined through 2018, though South Carolina could find its way into hosting a Division I regional for either cross country or women’s volleyball.
The accused shooter, Dylann Roof, had regularly posed with Confederate Flags, and police said he told them he hoped to trigger a race war.
Hogan, a Republican, said only about 150 people would be affected by recalling Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates, which have the image of the Confederate flag. More than 75,000 Iowans served in the Union Army – a higher per capita rate than any other state – and 17,000 of them died as a result of the war.
The vote comes after Southern lawmakers complained that they were sandbagged two nights ago when the House voted – without a recorded tally – to ban the display of Confederate flags at historic federal cemeteries and strengthen Park Service policy against its sale in gift shops.
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In a late night maneuver on Wednesday, Republicans aimed to push language into a funding bill that would allow the display and sale of Confederate battle flag imagery at cemeteries on federal land. Nine people, including state Senator Clementa Pinckney, were gunned down.
The flag, carried by Confederate troops on the losing side in the 1861-1865 Civil War, is seen as a symbol of racism and slavery by many.
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But Republican Representative Steve King of Iowa said Confederate symbols were protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guards freedom of speech. He said now was the “ideal” time to do so.
