COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to consider removing the Confederate flag from their Statehouse grounds, and other politicians took aim at Civil War-era symbols across the South, saying change is imperative after nine black churchgoers were slain in Charleston.
Meanwhile, retail giants raced to pull Confederate flag merchandise from their shelves and online marketplaces.
Amazon, eBay, Sears, K-Mart, and Etsy on Tuesday followed Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, which announced late Monday that it would stop selling Confederate merchandise.
Google blocked digital ads featuring Confederate flags after concluding they violated the Internet company’s policy against marketing messages promoting content that could be “generally perceived” as an expression of hate toward a group of people. The ban included Google Shopping, which consists of merchant ads. Links to Confederate flags are still being shown in Google’s general search results.
Before Amazon.com confirmed it would ban sales Tuesday afternoon, a Confederate flag selling for $7.99 was the second-best selling item on the site. A search for “Confederate flag” on Amazon.com yielded more than 29,000 results. A similar search on eBay yielded more than 1,200 items, including a string bikini adorned with the stars and bars.
One day after Gov. Nikki Haley’s call to move the flag to a museum, South Carolina lawmakers approved a measure enabling a flag debate by a vote of 103-10 in the House and a voice vote in the Senate.
The House vote brought a standing ovation and rounds of applause after Democratic and Republican leaders jointly sponsored the measure in a show of uncharacteristic unity.
Very few lawmakers rose to say the flag should stay; some said they were saving speeches for what promises to be an emotional debate this summer.
Lawmakers then prayed for state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who joined the legislature in 1997 and who, as pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopalian Church in Charleston, was among the dead.
“I ask that in the memory of Mr. Pinckney that we are generous in spirit, gracious in our conversation,” Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter urged her colleagues. “Those nine families have shown us how to do it. I would strongly suggest we take a cue from them.”
Dylann Roof, who faces murder and gun charges in the church attack, had posed in photos displaying Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags and told a friend that he was planning to do something “for the white race.”
Dozens of protesters remained on the Capitol grounds Tuesday to keep the pressure on lawmakers.
Police blocked off portions of the city’s Main Street that leads to the statehouse and Confederate flag, which sits close to the road on Capitol grounds. Although dozens listened to flag protesters thundering over loudspeakers, a small group stood at the looming Confederate monument with signs in defiance of the current mood.
Mark Garman, a 56-year-old who lives in Columbia, stood carrying a sign that had the American and Confederate flags on it. “Neither has ever stood for racism,” his sign said.
“I don’t hate anybody,” said Ben Marcus, a 24-year-old groundskeeper who held South Carolina’s secessionist flag, which features a white star and upside-down crescent moon on a red background. “I hate to see part of our history gone.”
Meanwhile, manufacturers that produce the divisive symbol say that sales are now surging.
“I don’t sell the Confederate flag for any specific group. I just sell the flag,” said Kerry McCoy, owner and president of Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com. “This is America. Everybody has a right to be represented whether you are a history buff or a nut.”
McCoy said her company expects to sell about 50 of the flags in the next week. That’s about half of what they typically sell in a year.
Pete Van de Putte said sales of Confederate flags are surging at his Dixie Flag Manufacturing in San Antonio. He said he has sold more flags in the past couple days than they would have typically sold over a couple of months.
“Any time there is a controversy about any flag, we sell more flags,” he said. “It’s not like selling tires or washing machines.
Both Van de Putte and McCoy say American flags are their most popular products. McCoy said most of the Confederate flags she sells are lower-quality items not meant to fly outside every day. She said residents of California easily buy the most of any state.
“They’re more for a dorm room or a gag gift,” she said. “I don’t know anybody that flies the Confederate battle flag on their flag pole outside their business. I mean, who would do that?”
Van de Putte’s inventory also includes novelty flags and banners from the military and countries like North Korea. He estimates that nearly every flag in his store could be seen as objectionable by someone.
Likewise, McCoy said she frequently gets pressure she resists to stop making gay pride flags or even flags that represent political parties.
“I’m not here to judge who does what with their flag; I’m just here to provide for America,” McCoy said.
But The Valley Forge Flag Co., based in Wyomissing, Penn., will no longer manufacture the Confederate battle flag. It is pulling references to it from its website and telling managers at its manufacturing plants, in South Carolina and Alabama, to cancel pending orders.
“When you have a sea change moment like you have with the tragedy in Charleston, we felt it was simply the right thing to do,” Valley Forge vice president Reggie VandenBosch said. “We don’t want to do anything that causes pain or disunity for people.”
The Washington Post and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
