South Carolina’s House of Representatives is due to begin debate Wednesday on a bill to remove the Civil War-era Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds, where it has flown for more than 50 years.

The bill, backed by both Democrats and Republicans, was overwhelmingly approved 36 to 3 by the state Senate on Tuesday.

Citizens and politicians across South Carolina, including Republican Governor Nikki Haley, demanded the flag come down after a white racist allegedly massacred nine black members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston on June 17.

The accused church shooter, Dylann Roof, was seen carrying the flag in pictures taken before the killings.

Flag opponents call it a symbol of white supremacy and the fight by southern states in the Civil War of the 1860s to keep slavery legal.

Flag supporters say it is a sign of history and pride in their family heritage, not slavery. Many of them abhor the racists who they say have hijacked the flag.

The Confederate flag flew on top of the South Carolina State House from 1962 until it was moved to a Civil War memorial in 2000. Flag opponents say it was originally put up over the Capitol to defy racial integration.

Suspected church shooter Roof is in prison waiting for his next court appearance. He has already been charged with nine counts of murder — one for each victim. He was charged with three counts of attempted murder Tuesday for the three survivors.

Roof could also face a weapons charge and federal prosecutors are also considering hate crimes charges against him.
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