S.C. governor calls for removing Confederate flag from Capitol grounds

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called Monday for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds.

"It's time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds," Haley said to applause at a news conference, while flanked by the state's congressional delegation and other leaders.

Haley's impassioned speech follows Wednesday's killing of nine black church members by a white gunman who allegedly expressed racist sentiments. The massacre prompted many in the state to question whether the flag's presence on public property delivered a not-so-subtle message of bigotry.

President Obama, who will travel to Charleston on Friday to deliver the eulogy for one of the victims, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, has said the flag should be removed and placed in a museum.

"For many people in our state, the flag stands for traditions that are noble. Traditions of history, of heritage, and of ancestry," Haley, a Republican, said. "At the same time, for many others in South Carolina, the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past."

The state, Haley said, can survive and thrive "while still being home to both of those viewpoints. We do not need to declare a winner and a loser."

"For those who wish to show their respect for the flag on their private property, no one will stand in your way," Haley said. "But the Statehouse is different. And the events of the past week call upon all of us to look at this in a different way."

Haley said her state is grieving, but also coming together with legislation such as requiring body cameras on police officers, after the shooting of Walter Scott, a black man, by a white police officer now charged with his murder. Haley said she stood as a minority elected as governor, with parents from India, and with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, the first black senator elected from the South since Reconstruction.

"On matters of race, South Carolina has a tough history," Haley said. "We don't need reminders."

Haley said to applause that if lawmakers don't debate removing the flag this summer, she would call them back for a special session. "That will take place in the coming weeks after the regular session and the veto session have been completed," she said. "There will be a time for discussion and debate. The time for action is coming soon."

Supporters of the flag contend it is historically significant as a memorial to Confederate soldiers who died while fighting for the South, while critics say it promotes racism.

Dylann Storm Roof, 21, who is charged with nine counts of murder in connection with the massacre, allegedly complained that "blacks were taking over the world" and that "someone needed to do something about it for the white race," according to a friend who alerted the FBI. Roof posted online pictures of himself holding the Confederate flag.

Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley Jr., a Democrat, said hate groups had appropriated the flag.

"We can't put it in a public place where it can give any oxygen to hate-filled people," Riley said.

Leland Summers, South Carolina division commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, issued a statement Friday dismissing any connection between the shooting and the flag.

"Do not associate the cowardly actions of a racist to our Confederate banner," Summers said. "There is absolutely no link between the Charleston massacre and the Confederate memorial banner. Don't try to create one."

Fellow Republicans also supported Haley's call to remove the flag.

"This flag has become too divisive and too hurtful for too many of our fellow Americans," said Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the flag "continues to be a painful reminder of racial oppression to many" and that "the time for a state to fly it has long since passed."

Until 2000, the battle flag flew over the Statehouse dome. Legislators in a compromise agreed to move the flag from the dome to a pole near the Confederate Soldiers Monument on the north side of the statehouse, just steps from Main Street in Columbia. Under terms of the compromise, it can only be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.

House Speaker Jay Lucas on Monday issued a statement Monday asking for lawmakers to quickly resolve the issue.

"Wednesday's unspeakable tragedy has reignited a discussion on this sensitive issue that holds a long and complicated history in the Palmetto State," Lucas said. "Moving South Carolina forward from this terrible tragedy requires a swift resolution of this issue."

Key lawmakers said the flag issue should be debated next week when the Legislature convenes for an extra session to complete the budget, after adjourning June 4. It can only take up budget matters unless lawmakers, by a two-thirds vote, agree to consider another piece of legislation.

Sen. Larry Martin, a Republican who heads Judiciary Committee, said he favors waiting until at least next week to debate the issue.

Another Republican, Sen. Mike Fair, suggested waiting until January to debate the issue.

"There is just no reason to stoke the fire," Fair said. "It's almost being opportunistic."

Rep. Justin Bamberg, a Democrat and an attorney for Walter Scott's family, said the Confederate flag should never have been flown on state grounds in the first place. Bamberg said he can respect people who personally want to keep the flag in their homes to remember ancestors. But for many the flag symbolizes hate, intimidation and murder, he said.

"It's hard to fathom that it would take nine families being destroyed for somebody to finally realize that because this flag does have so many meanings that it shouldn't be flown and endorsed by the state of South Carolina," Bamberg said.

After Haley made her announcement, several people drove by the South Carolina state Capitol honking car horns and screaming, "Take it down." But the ultimate decision is likely to be a matter of much debate among the citizens.

Chris Culpepper, 21, of Eastover, who lives near where the shooting suspect lived, says lawmakers may have politically motivated reasons to remove the flag rather than moral ones.

"The Confederate flag was a battle symbol and doesn't have anything to do with racism," Culpepper, who is white, said. "It's something they used for war."

Stan Seabrook, 53, an instructor at the Air National Guard in Columbia, S.C., welcomed the idea that the Confederate flag might be removed.

"The flag, in my opinion, is a divisive symbol," Seabrook, who is black, said. "It means that we can finally heal from all of the racial atrocities that happened in the past."

Jansen reported from Washington.Contributing: Donna Leinwand Leger, USA TODAY; and Tim Smith, The Greenville (S.C.) News