Lawmaker Wants To Ban Confederate Flag On Govt. Properties

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - An Orlando lawmaker wants to ban the display of Confederate flags on state and local government property in Florida.

Under the bill filed by Sen. Geraldine Thompson any flags now flying would have to come down. The bill says the ban would apply to "the flag or emblem of the Confederate States of America or any flag or emblem used by the Confederate States of America or its military or naval forces at any time within the years 1860 to 1865."

The flag issue has been heavily debated since a racially motivated massacre of nine black churchgoers in June in Charleston, S.C.

With the flag continuing to fly at some local-government sites in Florida, Thompson said it's time for lawmakers to act.

"We haven't seen the county level move to remove the flag,'' she said.

But House Local & Federal Affairs Chairman Dennis Baxley said the bill will die if it comes to the committee he leads.

"It's unfortunate that we've gotten tied up in this discussion of cultural cleansing,'' Baxley said. "The problem is once you start moving on this, then it goes to monuments, then it goes to roads, then it goes to disturbing graves."

The bill is filed for the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.