VA is changing policy on displaying of Confederate flag at cemeteries
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., climbed a flagpole to remove the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on June 27.
WASHINGTON » The Department of Veterans Affairs is changing its policy on displaying the Confederate flag, at the urging of Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and other House Democrats.
In a letter to Huffman, Interim Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Ronald Walters wrote that the new policy will prohibit the Confederate flag from being flown at any permanent flag pole at a national cemetery.
“We are aware of the concerns of those who wish to see Confederate flags removed from public venues because they are perceived by many as a symbol of racial intolerance,” the letter states. “We are also aware that the national cemeteries originated during the Civil War and that they are the final resting places of those who served on both sides of that conflict and as such flags of the Confederacy are also viewed by some merely as historical symbols.”
The policy will continue to allow private organizations to display the Confederate flag on individual Confederate soldiers’ graves on certain days. The flag can also still be displayed at certain ceremonies and at private burials taking place at national cemeteries.
Earlier this year, the House voted 265-159 to approve an amendment with the new policy to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, but the amendment was not included in the final version. At that point Huffman, who led the amendment with Reps. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Keith Ellison, D-Minn., requested that the Department of Veterans Affairs make the policy change itself.
“While racist individuals and groups continue to embrace the Confederate battle flag, it has never been more clear that this anachronistic symbol of hatred, slavery and insurrection should not be promoted or gratuitously displayed on federal property,” Huffman said in a statement. “That’s why I am so grateful that the Department of Veterans Affairs responded to our letter and to public concerns and decided to prohibit the large-scale display of Confederate flags on our national veterans cemeteries.”
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©2016 Tribune Co.
11 responses to “VA is changing policy on displaying of Confederate flag at cemeteries”
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More stomping on “tradition” in the interest of “political correctness”. They really need to make a “safe corner” in the cemeteries for the cry babies to congregate in so the rest of the world can uphold the traditions and values that built this country. Rather than hiding our past, why not embrace it and learn from it so we don’t make the same mistakes we made in the past and can build on our successes to create a brighter future?
Tradition? You mean slavery. Racists honor that flag. Period.
And by “cry babies” do you mean the families of dead servicemen & women?
Let me take a wild guess ….. you’re a Trump supporter?
Klastri, on which slave-trading ships did the Confederate flag fly? Whose flag flew on those ships? Which flag flew over the Confederate states before the Civil War? When you find the answers to these questions, please explain why the Confederate flag means slavery or racism.
It takes a really small mind to be offended by something like this.
You can’t honestly be this dense. It’s not possible.
Klastri, why can’t you answer the questions instead of resorting to name calling? My guess is that you do not know the answers and do not know where to go to find them. You may think I am dense, but I will tell you this. A flash light beamed into one of my ears does not come out the other side as it probably does for you.
HRS134, a great commentary! Wished I could have express, like you did, the wisdom and understanding to maintain traditions as opposed to political correctness.
Just bulldoze the Confederate monument. This is totally ridiculous. The Confederate flag is no way represents slavery. But if you people want to show your disrespect for Southerners fine.
The confederate flag definitely represents slavery. Of course it does.
I’m going to take two guesses here …. you’re not black, and you’re a Trump supporter. Am I right?
Does it really represent slavery? Read my comment above.
It does. The confederacy was formed by the south to preserve slavery and the Civil War was fought for the same reason.
If you don’t know that, then you need to repeat the sixth grade.
Someone once wrote “Any man who takes it upon himself to explain the causes of the Civil War deserves whatever grief comes his way, regardless of his good intentions.” I will leave it at that.