The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. July 7, 2015 South Carolina Senate Votes to Remove Confederate Flag at Capitol ------------------------------------------------------------------ The South Carolina Senate has voted to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol. The vote was 37 to 3, far more than the two-thirds majority needed to advance the bill. The vote came 19 days after nine African-American worshipers, including South Carolina state Senator Rev. Clementa Pinckney, were gunned down in a Charleston church by a racist suspect who embraced the Confederate flag. Republican state Senator Larry Martin, who for decades opposed attempts to remove the flag from the Capitol grounds, said he changed his mind following the massacre. Sen. Larry Martin: "See that thing fluttering out there in a way that sort of gives some official status to it on behalf of the people of South Carolina. That doesn't represent all the people of South Carolina. And we need to remember that. And in that regard, it is part of our history. It needs to be respected in whatever way or honored in whatever way folks choose to do. But as far as this state, on this state House grounds, it isn't part of our future. It's part of our past." The bill to remove the flag still needs to pass a second vote in the state Senate today before advancing to the House. Among the three senators who voted against removing the flag was state Senator Lee Bright, who sought an amendment to put the flag's fate to a popular vote. Senator Bright used the debate as an opportunity to condemn recent court decisions in favor of same-sex marriage. Sen. Lee Bright: "Our governor called us in to deal with the flag that sits out front. Let's deal with the national sin that we face today! We talk about abortion, but this gay marriage thing, I believe we will be one nation gone under, like President Reagan said. If we're not one nation under God, we'll be one nation gone under. And to sanctify deviant behavior from five judges, it's time for us to make our stand, church! It's time to make our stand, and we're not doing it. We can rally together and talk about a flag all we want, but the devil is taking control of this land, and we're not stopping him." .