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Panel Backs Removing Confederate Flag From Senate Seal
October 9, 2015
Lawmakers took a step toward removing the Confederate battle flag from the Senate’s official seal Thursday, as a committee unanimously voted to establish a new seal without the Civil War banner.
The Senate Rules Committee’s recommendation, which follows a request by Senate President Andy Gardiner and Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner to re-examine the flag’s place on the seal, is another sign of a backlash against the symbols of the South’s rebellion in the 1860s. The backlash has come after a white supremacist massacred nine black churchgoers in South Carolina this summer.
The new seal is likely to go to the full Senate in January, in the opening days of the annual legislative session. It would take effect if approved by a two-thirds vote of senators.
Under the proposal approved by the committee, the Senate’s official insignia would still include other non-American flags that flew over Florida, including the 1513 Spanish flag, the 1564 French flag and the 1763 flag of Great Britain. The United States flag and the Florida state flag would also appear on the marker.
During a presentation to members of the panel, Rules Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, highlighted post-Civil War rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court that held the decision by 11 Southern states to secede from nation was illegal.
Simmons said the Senate’s seal should include the flags of “those sovereignties that were legitimate sovereignties of this state.”
But it was impossible to escape the shadow that the Confederate flag has long cast over the politics of Florida and other Southern states. For many white Southerners, the battle flag is a commemoration of the military service and sacrifice of ancestors who fought against the Union.
For African-Americans, though, the banner is often a painful reminder of the brutal, slave-driven economy that was a central issue in the 1860 to 1865 war. Increasingly, white politicians have also joined in asking for the flag to be taken down in public spaces and otherwise set aside as a symbol of regional pride.
Joyner, a black Democrat from Tampa, said after the meeting that the effort to remove the flag from the seal is not an effort to wipe out the memory of what happened during the Civil War.
“I can remember it without seeing it on my lapel every day,” she told reporters after the meeting. “I mean, it’s reminiscent of a painful period. It’s time for healing, and I felt it was necessary to remove it.”
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, had an even blunter way of putting it.
“Well, it is part of history, but the Nazi flag is part of history and shouldn’t be forgotten, but it also shouldn’t be lifted up,” he said.
Sen. Darren Soto, R-Orlando, pointed out several steps the Legislature has taken in recent years to promote racial reconciliation and bridge other gaps.
“It’s time for us to have the seal be consistent with our values,” Soto said. “We can’t revise history and choose which moments in our history to forget. But we can choose what we highlight in our seal that’s just and right.”
But the action is unlikely to halt all discussion of how the state memorializes the Civil War. Joyner voiced hope that lawmakers would also consider legislation (SB 154 and HB 243) seeking to ban government buildings or properties from displaying any flag used by the Confederacy.
The House and Senate could also consider legislation to replace a statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, whose likeness is one of two sculptures that represent the state in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Comments
15 Responses to “Panel Backs Removing Confederate Flag From Senate Seal”
Why not just remove all flags and fly only a blank flag, then nobody will have anything to cry about they have killed this country anyway.
@Moneyman, Marion County is located in Ocala, FL.
If the rest of the State doesn’t consider themselves to be Southern culturally then why did Marion Co. Orlando vote to keep the flag against northern aggression? History is a very important part of our lives. The Panhandle area has more people native to the south than other areas in the State that doesn’t mean we don’t belong due to the P.C. junk that has been forced down our throats. My 2nd great Grandfather joined the army in Florida and fought against northern aggression. All of my family either joined in Florida or Alabama. They fought to protect their family and land. So I guess I should be shamed for what they did? I think not! History doesn’t change, it remains the same. P
eople can use it for good or bad but it remains the same!
@CW – It may have something to do with the fact that most if the residents in those areas are transplants from elsewhere. Your implication that those of us in Florida’s panhandle are a bunch of yokels is so far off base it would be laughable if not so sad. By your reasoning, the lower half of Florida may as well be part of New Jersey or New York.
So we remove the flag of the Confederacy because it is anti-American, but the same groups who are whining to do away with this part of history are the same ones who are against displaying American flags in schools, on clothing, etc., because it might offend someone. I find that offensive.
Sometimes I think people in the rural panhandle don’t realize how much the rest of the state has changed. People who live in Miami, Tampa, Orlando, etc do not consider themselves to be culturally “Southern”. The northernmost part of Florida might as well become part of Alabama and Georgia.
I have found most politicians are useless in this fight. They will not take a position which they think opposes the political momentum, regardless of what their constituents want them to do.
I hope every incumbent has opposition because I m voting for whoever their opposition is….and I encourage all of you to do the same…..it’s time to throw the bums out!
We will do more than just vote against politicians who oppose the flag. We will actively campagin with their opposition against them. We will help new candidates get on the ballot and register new voters to express their distaste of spineless politicians at the poles.
What a disgrace to the heros that fought to save the south.
I do not support the removal of the flag from the Senate Seal. You should know that. Calling people Marxists or suggesting we add the Mexican or ISIS flags lets everyone know you’re frustrated, but doesn’t actually accomplish anything useful.
Go to Google, Search Florida State Senators, Click Find Your Legislators, Put in your Zip Code and you’ll see Senator Evers’ smiling face. Click the button that allows you to e-mail him. Try to write something calm and persuasive. I’ll show you what I sent.
Senator Evers,
I am a registered voter in your district and I’d like to comment on the proposal to remove the Flag of the Confederacy from the Senate’s seal. Though I have no great love of the Confederate flag, I do not support this initiative. It is undeniable that it once flew over our state. Every flag represented on the Seal, including our own, can represent something terrible to certain groups. To single out one flag is inappropriate, in my opinion. To make this change would be wrong, as well as a waste of time and money. I think there are more pressing matters that need to be addressed. Thank you for your consideration.
It’s not great. It may not cause any change, but it lets Senator Evers know he will have my support if opposes the change to the Seal. It can’t be less effective than getting all fired up on these boards.
Peace!
Maybe they can put the Mexican or ISIS flag in it’s place. Seems everyone is now supporting that instead of our AMERICAN history. Just a thought…
whats next IN GOD WE TRUST remember the way the Rs vote
what a great idea! This will stop the racist activities. No problem. Thanks for figuring out the solution to the problem! Maybe replace it with a picture of union soldiers burning crops and killing livestock to celebrate the end of the war.
I am opposed to removing the flag from the state seal. Will not vote for anyone supporting its removal.
Way to go. Just let the liberal, social, Marxists always have their way, and destroy this country.
Why not remove the Battle Flag and replace it with the national flag?