The congressmen representing Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee said Thursday they would support legislation that would allow family members to place Confederate flags on graves at federally run cemeteries.
Earlier in the week, lawmakers decided by voice vote and without controversy to ban the display of the Confederate flag in Park Service-run cemeteries.
But on Thursday, another amendment was placed on hold. The House was expected to vote on the measure that would have permitted the limited display of the Confederate flag at Park Service-run cemeteries in states that observe a holiday commemorating the Confederacy, and only at the graves of rebels who died in the Civil War.
U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, explained that the Confederate flag issues have been added as amendments to an Interior Department appropriations bill that totals more than 100 pages.
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Griffith said there was some confusion regarding the added amendments. He added that Congress must “iron out the issues,” and discuss the history of the flag as well as its use as a symbol of hate.
Although the vote did not come up on Thursday, to respect the veterans, Griffith said he would vote for language that allows the Confederate flag to be placed on graves.
But he noted that to some, “It’s exclusively a sign of hatred,” noting that the Ku Klux Klan adopted the flag as its banner.
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio told the Associated Press that it’s time for “adults here in Congress to actually sit down and have a conversation about how to address the issue.”
The developments were the latest relating to the Confederate flag in the House. The flag has come under intense scrutiny since the shooting deaths last month of nine Bible study participants in a South Carolina church.
Griffith said he was unaware if or when the vote will be made on the amendment.
U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Johnson City, issued a statement early Thursday, before the vote was scrapped.
“I also wholeheartedly believe in and support the First Amendment rights of Americans,” Roe said. “Refusing to allow family members of Confederate soldiers to fly at their gravesites goes too far.”
Also on Thursday, the South Carolina governor signed legislation to remove the flag from the state Capitol grounds.
Roe’s statement noted, “I believe it’s important for state houses to ensure that their government buildings represent the views of everyone they serve.”
The statement added, “Simply put, states should make decisions about what is displayed in their government buildings and private citizens should be permitted to exercise their constitutional rights.”
The Confederate flag legislation would not affect local federally run cemeteries, officials said Thursday.
The Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee contains the remains of more than 10,000 veterans. But a spokesperson on Thursday said there are no Confederate graves or Confederate flags on the property.
The Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Greeneville, Tennessee, where President Andrew Johnson is buried, does not have any Confederate graves or Confederate flags.
“We were originally designated as the Johnson Presidential and Johnson Family Cemetery in 1875, and it did not become a national cemetery until many years later in 1906,” Superintendent Lizzie Watts said.
National Park Service spokeswoman Kathy Kupper said the agency administers 14 national cemeteries. Kupper spent the day Thursday determining the number of Confederate graves in each cemetery. So far, she said, there are 18 at Poplar Grove in Virginia, nine at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, two at Shiloh in Tennessee, two at Vicksburg in Mississippi and one at Andersonville in Georgia.
Kupper noted that there were no Confederate graves at other national cemeteries, including Fort Donelson in Tennessee, Battlefield in the District of Columbia, Antietam in Maryland, Yorktown in Virginia and Fredericksburg in Virginia.
Kupper said information was not available for Andrew Johnson, Clamette in Louisiana, Little Bighorn in Montana and Stones River in Tennessee.