South Carolina General Assembly
110th Session, 1993-1994

Bill 4533


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Introducing Body:               House
Bill Number:                    4533
Primary Sponsor:                J. Brown
Committee Number:               25
Type of Legislation:            CR
Subject:                        Confederate Flag
Residing Body:                  House
Current Committee:              Judiciary
Computer Document Number:       BBM/10836JM.94
Introduced Date:                19940118
Last History Body:              House
Last History Date:              19940118
Last History Type:              Introduced, referred to
                                Committee
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   J. Brown
                                Govan
                                Scott
                                Hines
                                Cobb-Hunter
                                Breeland
                                Whipper
                                Moody-Lawrence
                                Neal
                                Byrd
                                J. Bailey
                                McMahand
Type of Legislation:            Concurrent
                                Resolution



History


Bill  Body    Date          Action Description              CMN  Leg Involved
____  ______  ____________  ______________________________  ___  ____________

4533  House   19940118      Introduced, referred to              25
                            Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

TO DECLARE THAT THE CONFEDERATE FLAG BE REMOVED FROM ATOP THE STATE HOUSE.

Whereas, freedom of expression is not a collective right of states or public institutions, but rather an individual right of each citizen, protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas, that right is unlawfully infringed not only whenever a citizen is denied the freedom to peaceably express himself but also whenever he is compelled to participate in any expression against his will; and

Whereas, the navy jack (alias battle flag) of the Confederate States of America, daily flown over the State House, is not a duly adopted official banner of either the United States of America or the State of South Carolina and, therefore, is flown not as an official representation of either but rather as a form of symbolic speech or expression; and

Whereas, there are citizens of South Carolina who do not choose to participate in such expression and who find it contrary to their sincerely held religious and philosophical convictions and violative of their moral consciences to do so but who are compelled to do so by virtue of their involuntary support of the State House through compulsory taxation; and

Whereas, the members of the General Assembly oppose the practice of flying the Confederate flag over the State House or any public property other than property dedicated exclusively to the function of a war memorial or museum, and, further, some find this practice to be in violation of each citizen's constitutional right to be free of the imposition of compulsory symbolic speech or expression; and

Whereas, the General Assembly feels that the Confederate flag should be permanently removed from atop the State House. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the General Assembly declares that the Confederate flag be removed from atop the State House.

-----XX-----