Committee Wants Confederate Flag Off Florida Senate Logo

The Florida Senate Rules Committee unanimously backed a proposal to remove the Confederate flag from the Senate’s logo. 

On Thursday, the proposal from Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, the chairman of the Rules Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, passed without opposition. Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, has been pushing the removal, urging the committee to send it to the full Senate. For the flag to be removed, 27 senators need to pass the measure when it reaches the full Senate. 

“The recommendation to remove the Confederate flag from our seal will never erase a painful period in Florida’s history, nor the blood recently spilled in a South Carolina church in its name,”  Joyner said on Thursday. “But the unified voices ratifying this action gives us hope for healing these wounds once and for all. And, as we look forward to the full Senate’s endorsement, a powerful symbol that we stand together as one.”