On Third Reading, the S.C. Senate Has Voted to Remove the Confederate Flag

Confederate Flag

On third reading, the South Carolina Senate has voted 36-3 in favor of removing the Confederate flag from the State House grounds.

On Monday, the South Carolina Senate voted 37-3 in favor, CBS News reports.

According to a report from the Huffington Post, Senator Vincent Sheheen, who introduced the bill to remove the flag, asked legislators to approve it because "it's the right thing to do."

"The issue had to be resolved," said Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Hugh Leatherman. "It had been festering for a long, long time.

Removing the Confederate flag was not a unanimous decision. Senators Lee Bright, Danny Verdin, and Harvey Peeler voted against Sheheen's bill. 

The Post and Courier reports that many protestors stood outside the State House waving Confederate flags, showing support for keeping the flag up. 

"I'm, standing up for what's right," said William Cheek, one of the protestors. "My forefathers fought under this flag, they had every right to." 

Now that the bill has been passed by the Senate, it will go to the House. If the House votes in favor of the bill, it will go to Governor Nikki Haley to be signed.