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South Carolina Senate votes to remove Confederate flag

Surveys show lawmakers have enough votes in both houses to remove the flag.

By Andrew V. Pestano and Danielle Haynes
The Confederate battle flag flies outside South Carolina State House on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. On June 17, 2015, nine people were shot and killed inside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where Pinckney was the pastor, during Bible study. A suspect, Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested in connection with the shootings. Photo by Kevin Liles/UPI
The Confederate battle flag flies outside South Carolina State House on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. On June 17, 2015, nine people were shot and killed inside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where Pinckney was the pastor, during Bible study. A suspect, Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested in connection with the shootings. Photo by Kevin Liles/UPI | License Photo

COLUMBIA, S.C., July 6 (UPI) -- The South Carolina Senate on Monday overwhelmingly voted to remove the Confederate flag flying at a memorial on the grounds of the State House.

The Senate voted 37-3 to approve a measure to take down the flag, which has been the source of protest and debate in the wake of a deadly shooting at a predominantly black church in Charleston.

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Because the bill earned more than two-thirds majority in votes, it will move on to another Senate vote under state rules. That vote is likely to take place Tuesday.

Should the Senate again vote to remove the flag, the bill passes to the South Carolina House of Representatives, which also needs a two-thirds majority to pass the legislation.

Three Republicans voted against the measure: Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney, Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg County and Sen. Danny Verdin of Laurens, USA Today reported.

State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Democrat who voted in favor of removal, said there has been "quiet bigotry" in South Carolina.

"It's about how to heal wounds that stretch back many years," he said. "We've been pulling the Band-Aid off really slowly, and it hasn't been good for us."

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South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the flag to be taken down following the deadly shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on June 17, where nine church members were killed by an apparent white supremacist during a Bible study session.

"You always want to think that today is better than yesterday -- that we're growing as a state, we're growing as a country. When something like this happens, you reflect, and you say: Have we changed enough?" Haley told NBC's Today on Saturday.

"I don't think this is going to be easy. I don't think that it's going to be painless, but I do think that it will be respectful, and that it will move swiftly," Haley said.

Several surveys of lawmakers have shown the state's legislature has enough votes to remove the Confederate flag, but there has been vocal opposition to the move.

Automated telephone calls were reportedly received by voters last week, urging them to call their representatives to tell them "not stand with leftist fanatics who want to destroy the South we love."

"What's next? This attack on our values is sick and un-American and it has to stop right here and right now in South Carolina," the automated message said.

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