TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate is removing the Confederate battle flag from the chamber's official seal.
The entire Senate on Monday agreed to revise the seal that now contains the battle flag along with four other flags that have flown in Florida.
The Senate seal is located prominently in the Senate chambers in the Florida Capitol. Replicas of the seal appear throughout the Capitol and are included on Senate stationery.
"I'm glad that we are taking it down and recognizing the Confederate flag for what it is. What it is, is a symbol of a time when this country went to war to keep my ancestors in slavery," Sen. Oscar Braynon (D-Miami Gardens) said.
A Senate committee had proposed replacing the Confederate battle flag with the current Florida flag. But Senate President Andy Gardiner told reporters that the Senate may consider altering the entire seal.
Sen. Arthenia Joyner asked the chamber to consider the change shortly after Dylann Roof was accused of killing nine people at a South Carolina church. Roof appeared in photos with the Confederate flag.
"There's an appropriate place for that, perhaps a museum or something like that," Orlando resident Palmer O'Halloran said.
Monday's action almost didn't happen, though, when one senator raised questions about whether the entire seal would be redrawn.
"Symbols are important, and I would like to have a discussion about what the seal is going to look like," Sen. Rob Bradley (R-Fleming Island) said.
"It was good that we at least made the change out of respect for those that had a concern about the flag being a part of the Senate seal," Gardiner said.
Cox Media Group
