On July 7 Florida’s Marion County reversed course, ended what had only been a seven-day ban on the Confederate flag by raising it again over their Fallen Officers Memorial.
The reversal was the result the county’s board of commissioners overruling board chairman Stan McClain’s earlier decision to take it down.
The flag had been lowered at the end of June.
According to WKMG, the commissioners “voted unanimously…to reinstate the Confederate flag” on Tuesday and it was “immediately raised once again.”
The vote was the result of pubic outcry over the removal of the flag. Residents showed up to the board of the commissioners meeting and demanded a vote, arguing that the flag is part of history and should be displayed because of that.
Resident Buddy Proctor said he though the flag should be “put back” because “it’s a Southern flag.” And Debbie Rotstein said, “I don’t see racism in the symbol of the Confederate flag, I see it was part of the Civil War, and it was part of our history.”
State representative Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) also spoke, making clear his belief that it is wrong to simply start expunging things from history which we find offensive or with which we don’t agree. He said, “We are all exposed to messages and symbols that may not connect for us, but we should all honor our ancestors and protect free expression.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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