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Weeks after a racially motivated shooting rampage at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church left nine people dead, politicians in both parties in the state Senate have been calling for the Confederate flag to be removed from statehouse grounds.
A bill supporting the removal of the flag has been scheduled to be debated in the House of Representatives where it must pass by a two-thirds majority. The measure has also seen strong support by sitting governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley.
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Believed by many to be a symbol of segregation and oppression, the Confederate flag has sparked contentious debates within the state that has a Black population of around 28 percent. While a majority of legislators in the Senate have supported the flag's removal from state grounds, some South Carolina’s residents continue to support the flags presence on government property.
Republican Senator Lee Bright states that he fears the tragic event at the church was being used to destroy Southern history, reports the BBC. “I believe we're placing the blame of what one deranged lunatic did on people that hold their southern heritage high and I don't think that's fair."
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During the session, lawmakers also defeated three amendments designed to undermine the measure, including a proposal for a statewide referendum and another that called for its outside the State House each year on Confederate Memorial Day, the New York Times reports.
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