COLUMBIA (CNN) — The South Carolina House of Representatives on Thursday moved a bill to remove the Confederate flag that flies on Statehouse grounds to a second reading, which will take place on Wednesday.
The final reading of the bill, which was introduced by 29 state senators in wake of the Charleston church shooting, passed Tuesday 37-3 in the senate.
The House must also vote to pass the bill with at least a two-thirds majority during second and third readings before it heads to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Rep. Michael Pitts (R, District 14- Laurens and Greenwood counties) said he will not let the flag be removed without a fight. He said he wants the flag that is currently flying on the Confederate memorial outside the Statehouse to be replaced with the first battle flag of the Confederacy. Pitts pledged that he will bring the House’s debates to a “grinding halt” and keep talking and adding amendments until the House reaches a compromise that will keep a flag honoring Pitts’ ancestors on the flagpole.
House Minority Whip Rep. Todd Rutherford , a Democrat representing Richland County, said during a news conference that about 50 representatives supported a plan for a compromise.
During the news conference, Rutherford and other House Democrats commended senators for pushing the bill through and asked House Republicans to push the bill forward in that chamber without issue.
Sen. Lee Bright was the first senator to speak when Bill 897 was brought up during Tuesday’s session.
Bright spoke for several minutes about the feedback he had been receiving from his constituents that were angry over the plan to remove the flag, many even calling supporters of the bill “traitors,” Bright said.
Bright continued by warning senators that the nation should “turn away from this centralized power in Washington that is trampling us” before launching back into his defense of the Confederate flag.
“To think that removing this flag will eliminate racism in our state and our nation is like going to edge of the Atlantic and thinking you can drink the whole ocean,” Bright said.
Bright said he would not filibuster but asked for a roll call on the bill.
Next, Sen. Danny Verdin, who represents Laurens and Greenville counties, took the podium. He also discouraged the removal of the flag.
The third and final vote was taken after Verdin spoke.
Bright and Verdin voted “No,” along with Sen. Harvey Peeler of Cherokee County. Thirty three senators voted in favor of the bill.
On Monday, Senators tabled proposed amendments to the bill and passed a second reading of Bill 897, which calls for the flag and place it in the Confederate Relic Room during a second reading of the bill.
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