The South Carolina state Senate approved a bill Monday to lower the controversial Confederate flag that has flown from the Civil War memorial on the Statehouse ground for at least 50 years.
The bill passed its second reading in the Senate floor with a vote of 37-3, according to The Dallas Morning News. The overwhelming support came on the heels of the Charleston killings last week, which saw the death of nine people attending a predominantly black church. The suspected perpetrator of the massacre has been discovered to have posted photos on a website where he posed with the Confederate flag while holding a racist manifesto, MSN reported. This helped drive a swift change in South Carolina where a proposal to ban the flag from state grounds would have met a resounding political opposition a month ago. The flag is now increasingly seen as a symbol of racial segregation, white supremacy and bigotry, especially among South Carolina's black population.
Those who argue against the bill underscored that the flag is part of the state's heritage and that it represents the bravery of the soldiers who fought for the South during the Civil War. There was also a lingering worry that the bill, once signed into law, could lead to the removal of other symbols that honor Confederate heroes.
Public opinion is mixed on the issue and appears to be divided along racial lines. Many white Americans, for instance, see the flag as a symbol of pride. while an overwhelming number of African-Americans see it as a racist symbol, according to a CNN poll.
The bill will be sent to the state house after a second vote, where it is also expected to encounter limited opposition. A recent Charleston Post and Courier poll reported that the proposal also enjoys support from at least a two-thirds majority in the lower House.
