South Carolina lawmakers vote to banish Confederate flag

Washington

South Carolina lawmakers agreed Thursday to banish the Confederate flag from the grounds of the Statehouse, a move meant to foster a reconciliation and healing after last month's shooting massacre at a black church.

In a pre-dawn vote following a full day of debate Wednesday, the state's House of Representatives agreed overwhelmingly to remove the Confederate battle flag, which for decades has had a place of prominence in front of the legislature building.

The measure was passed by a resounding 94 in favor and 20 against  far more than the two-thirds vote needed for final approval. The same bill cleared the state Senate on Monday by a vote of 37 to three.

It now goes to the desk of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who had made an ardent plea to lawmakers to approve the measure following the June 17 massacre of nine African Americans at an evening prayer service.

Dylann Roof, 21, a suspected white supremacist charged with the killings, has been seen in online photographs flaunting the Confederate flag. Haley, in a posting on her Facebook page, praised lawmakers for voting to remove the divisive banner from the grounds of the state capital building  a move which just a few short weeks ago would have been unthinkable.

"Today, as the Senate did before them, the House of Representatives has served the State of South Carolina and her people with great dignity," Haley wrote.