SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE VOTES FOR REMOVAL
Bill would oust symbol from Capitol grounds
The South Carolina Senate gave key approval Monday to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds.
The 37-3 vote came after several hours of debate and defeat of a handful of proposed amendments. Under Senate rules, it must pass by a two-thirds majority again in a final vote Tuesday.
State lawmakers began debate Monday on the fate of the flag, less than three weeks after a deadly shooting at a predominantly black church brought renewed attention to the controversial Southern symbol.
The Senate proposal, which would remove the flag from a Confederate monument on the Statehouse lawn, would go to the House for consideration. The bill requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to be sent to Gov. Nikki Haley, who strongly supports it.
Voting against the measure were three Republicans: Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney, Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg County and Sen. Danny Verdin of Laurens.
Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Democrat and chief author of the flag bill, told the Senate that “quiet bigotry” still exists in the state.
“It’s about how to heal wounds that stretch back many years,” Sheheen said of removing the flag. “We’ve been pulling the band-aid off really slowly, and it hasn’t been good for us.”
Sen. Larry Martin, a Republican, said his view on the flag changed after the June 17 attack that left nine people dead at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Police say accused shooter Dylann Roof reportedly shouted racial epithets during the bloodbath, and several photos of the suspect showed him posing with a Confederate flag.
“It isn’t part of our future. It’s part of our past,” Martin said.
Bright had earlier asked for an amendment to require a nonbinding public referendum on the issue.
State Sen. Darrell Jackson, a Democrat, was a part of a 2000 compromise that put the flag at the monument. Now, he would like to see the issue resolved once and for all.
“Hopefully the fight about the Confederate flag at the Capitol will be over,” Jackson said.
“We’ve been pulling the band-aid off really slowly, and it hasn’t been good for us.”
Sen. Vincent Sheheen