Gov. Haley signs bill to remove Confederate flag from SC State House grounds
Gov. Nikki Haley signed a historic bill to remove the Confederate flag from the S.C. State House grounds into law on Thursday.
The flag will come down at 10 a.m. Friday. The Civil War icon has flown at the State House for more than five decades, first on the Capitol dome and inside House and Senate chambers and then next to the Confederate Solider Monument where it flies now.
Josh Baker, budget director for Gov. Nikki Haley, carries a bill Thursday to remove the Confederate flag from the State House grounds to the governor’s office. Haley will sign the bill at 4 p.m. Thursday.Josh Baker, budget director for Gov. Nikki Haley, carries a bill Thursday to remove the Confederate flag from the State House grounds to the governor’s office. Haley will sign the bill at 4 p.m. Thursday. | TRACY GLANTZ TGLANTZ@THESTATE.COM“The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the S.C. State House,” she said standing with former governors, state lawmakers and families of some of the victims in the Charleston church shooting the motivated the flag ban.
Taking down the Confederate flag that had flown at the State House for five decades became a legislative priority after nine African-Americans were gunned down at a historic Emanuel AME Church last month.
Authorities have called the shootings a hate crime.
One of the victims was state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a Jasper Democrat who was the church’s pastor.
The General Assembly moved quickly to pass the bill.
The S.C. House approved the bill just after 1 a.m. Thursday morning. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday.
The debate was heated at times with some lawmakers wanting to protect the heritage of Confederate ancestors. But the Legislature agreed overwhelmingly to a bill that not only removes the flag but takes down the flagpole.
“What we saw in that swift action ... members start to see what it was like in each others’ shoes,” she said. “I saw passions get high, I saw passions get low but I saw commitment never ending.”
Haley held the bill signing in the second floor lobby at the State House — the same location where she started the call for the flag to come down less than three weeks ago.
Businesses, including retailers Walmart and Amazon, and other state leaders in Alabama and North Carolina have followed with bans on Confederate battle flags.
Haley gave pens used to sign the bill to the each of the families to each of the victims, whom she praised for “showing the world what true forgiveness and grace look like.” Some victims’ relatives have forgiven the accused shooter.
“When the emotions start to fade, the history of actions that took place by everyone in South Carolina is one we can all be proud of,” she said.
This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Gov. Haley signs bill to remove Confederate flag from SC State House grounds."