Updated at 8:43 p.m. ET Sunday Lawmakers in Mississippi voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag on Sunday, clearing the way for
Updated at 8:43 p.m. ET Sunday
Lawmakers in Mississippi voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag on Sunday, clearing the way for Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to sign the measure into law.
The state House and Senate both approved legislation to remove the 126-year-old current flag and to form a commission to redesign it.
« Today we and the rest of the nation can look on our state with new eyes, with pride and hope, » House Speaker Philip Gunn said following the House vote, according to the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger.
Sunday’s passage was expected following a procedural vote on Saturday.
The bill now goes to the governor, who has said he would sign the legislation but has not immediately set a date for the signing.
He made the pledge on Saturday in a Facebook post.
« The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it’s time to end it, » Reeves wrote.
