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Lawmakers in South Carolina's House of Representatives voted today to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state legislature following last month's shooting massacre at an African-American church.
The bill which was passed earlier this week in the state Senate now goes to the desk of South Carolina's Governor Nikki Haley, who had urged lawmakers to pass the measure, following the June 17 massacre of nine African Americans.
Haley, in a post on her Facebook page, praised lawmakers for voting to remove the flag from the grounds of the state capital building, a move which just a few 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.
"I am grateful for their service and their compassion. It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state", she added
Today's vote came after a full day of heated debate a day earlier in the South Carolina House, as lawmakers opposed to removing the flag introduced a raft of amendments to slow down passage of the measure.
It passed by a vote of 94-20, more than the two-thirds vote needed for approval.
"It's been a long time coming but I always felt this day would come," tweeted James Clyburn, a longtime member of the US House from South Carolina, who is African American.
"I look forward to Governer Haley expeditiously signing this bill and finally removing the Confederate Battle Flag from the Statehouse grounds", he added
Officials said once removed, the flag will be taken to a museum where it will be displayed as an artifact of Southern history.
