Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday said that the Confederate flag should be removed from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol.
“I think the flag is inescapably a symbol of human bondage and slavery, and particularly when people use it obviously for murder and to justify hatred so vicious that you would kill somebody, I think that that symbolism needs to end, and I think South Carolina is doing the right thing,” he told host Jeff Kuhner on WKRO radio, according to audio highlighted by Buzzfeed News.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), along with other Republican and Democratic lawmakers, on Monday called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the capitol.
Paul said on Tuesday that it is “decision for South Carolina to make” but that he would vote to take down the flag.
“There have been people who have used it for southern pride and heritage and all of that, but really to I think to every African American in the country, it’s a symbolism of slavery to them, and now it’s a symbol of murder for this young man, and so I think it’s time to put it in a museum,” he said.
Since the deadly shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., officials and 2016 presidential candidates have weighed in on whether it’s appropriate for South Carolina to fly the Confederate flag.
Mitt Romney called for the state to take down the flag, and since Haley’s decision, numerous Republican 2016 candidates commended her decision, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R).
