After a violent cloudburst subsided over the capital of the Palmetto State in June, Gov. Nikki Haley held a press conference calling for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.
"Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it's time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds," said Haley during the press conference.
The call for the removal of the flag is not a new issue, but has been reignited after white supremacist and domestic terrorist Dylann Roof gunned down nine innocent black citizens in the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston last week. Among the victims was Pastor and South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney.
The call for its removal, however, was most certainly not a unanimous position in South Carolina.
"For many people in our state, the flag stands for traditions that are noble - traditions of history, of heritage and of ancestry," Haley said. "The hate filled murderer that massacred our brothers and sisters in Charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. In no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect, and in many ways, revere it. Those South Carolinians view the flag as a symbol of respect, integrity and duty. They also see it as a memorial - a way to honor ancestors, who came to the service of their state during a time of conflict. That is not hate, nor is it racism."
Haley continued and went on to address the issue of the flag on the Statehouse grounds, in regards to the responsibility of the state government to all of its constituents.
"At the same time, for many others in South Carolina, the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past," Haley said. "As a state, we can survive and indeed we can thrive, as we have done, while still being home to both of those viewpoints. We respect freedom of expression, and for those who wish to show their respect for the flag, on their private property, no one will stand in your way. But the Statehouse is different and the events of this past week call upon us to look at this in a different way. Fifteen years ago, after much contentious debate, South Carolina came together in a bi-partisan way to remove the flag from the top of the capital dome. Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it's time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds."
"This is a moment in which we can say that that flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state," Haley said. "The General Assembly wraps up their year this week, and as Governor I have the authority to call them back into session under extraordinary circumstances. I have indicated ... that if they do not take measures to ensure this debate takes place this summer, I will use that authority for the purpose of the Legislature removing the flag from the Statehouse grounds.
"We are not going to allow this symbol to divide us any longer," the governor continued. "The fact that people are choosing to use it as a sign of hate is something that we cannot stand. The fact that it causes pain to so many is enough to remove it from Capitol grounds. It is after all, a Capitol that belongs to all of us."