Posted on 06/23/2015 9:53:55 AM PDT by rarestia
Major retailers are halting sales of the Confederate flag after the shooting deaths of nine black church members in South Carolina.
Sears Holding Corp. says it is removing Confederate flag merchandise from its website, and a spokesman says that no Confederate flag merchandise is sold inside Sears or Kmart stores.
On Monday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would remove all items from its store shelves and website that feature the flag after the shooting suspect, Dylann Storm Roof, appeared in photos holding the flag.
However, the companies that make Confederate flags and confederate-themed products, as well as smaller operators that sell them, expect sales to surge, at least temporarily.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that the flag should be removed from the statehouse grounds, acknowledging that to many the flag is a "deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past."
READ MORE: Calls to remove the Confederate flag throughout the South
In a statement, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart Stores Inc. said its goal is to not offend anyone with the products it offers.
"We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our website," the company said. "We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances."
A search Monday of Walmart's website for Confederate flag merchandise returned no results. But a Mississippi state flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem in one of its corners, was on offer.
A top Mississippi lawmaker called Monday for the removal of the emblem from the state flag. Calls to remove Confederate flag
In the wake of a massacre at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a bipartisan mix of officials across Southern states are calling for the removal of Confederate flags and other symbols of the Confederacy.
Here's a look at what's happening and what's being proposed:
South Carolina
Republican Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that the Confederate flag should be removed from the Statehouse grounds, reversing her position on the divisive symbol. Legislative leaders - Republican and Democrat, black and white - joined her for the announcement.
"One hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, the time has come," Haley said.
The flag flown in front of the state Capitol for 15 years after being moved from atop the Statehouse dome. Haley's announcement sparked further calls from politicians across the state and country both for South Carolina's flag to come down and for other flags and Confederate symbols to be removed in other states.
Mississippi
Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said Monday that the Confederate battle emblem is offensive and needs to be removed from the state flag. He said in a statement that remembering the past is important, "but that does not mean we must let it define us."
Mississippi voters decided by a 2-to-1 margin in 2001 to keep the state flag, which has a Confederate battle emblem in one of its corners.
Tennessee
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called for a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and an early leader in the Ku Klux Klan, to be removed from an alcove outside the Senate chambers at the Statehouse. The bust, inscribed with the words "Confederate States Army," has been at the Capitol for decades.
Virginia
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is moving to have the Confederate flag banished from state license plates. He said Tuesday that he's asked the state attorney general to take steps to reverse a 2002 federal court decision that said Virginia could not block the Confederate Veterans from displaying its logo - which includes the Confederate flag - on state license plates.
Texas
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas was within its rights to ban personalized license plates showing the Confederate flag. The court, in a 5-4 decision, rejected a challenge on the grounds of freedom of speech.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans had sought a Texas plate bearing its logo with the battle flag. Similar plates are issued by eight other states that were members of the Confederacy and by the state of Maryland. In Virginia, McAuliffe cited this ruling in his call for banning the flag from plates in his state.
Sears, Kmart join Walmart in removing Confederate flag items from stores, online
No free speech for you!!
it’s probably surprising it hasn’t happened years ago
No is 56%
Good grief. They are winning on every single issue they go after.
It'll be worth some money.
"Since Wal Mart has recently banned the sale of Confederate related items, when is your company going to stop sales of posters, artwork, and t-shirts honoring the Communist thug and mass murderer Che Guevara? Remember that your company was founded in Arkansas, a former Confederate state, and your founder was himself a Southerner. If you ban Confederate-related items in the name of political correctness, when will you ban Christian related items for the same reason? Perhaps we will also see the works of secular conservative authors and musicians banned. Last time I was in Wal Mart, I saw DVDs of John Wayne and Chuck Norris movies. Are they also on the way out?
"Remember that doing this will not save you from the wrath of liberals, who hate your success and want to bind you with union closed shops, very high minimum wages, and other restrictions. Wal Mart has not been able to set up shop in liberal strongholds like New York City because of the wrath of the left.
"Revolutions first go after the hard core resisters, then after the mealy mouthed compromisers. Read up on the Bolshevik Revolution if you have a chance. Wal Mart's turn will come."
Except gun control, which is why they're going after a flag.
You will still be able to find one if you want it. Or even make one. Secondly I guess they should quit selling the American flag since he also didn’t like it. CA schools have already banned it at some esp. during Cinco De Mayo or something.
The kit was there last week at the Walmart near me, bet it's still there today.
First of all if Sears and KMart stop selling anything it’ll put them out of business. They can’t afford to lose one customer.
Second, I, to, find this sickening. Do these people not realize what they’re doing to the constitution? The Founding Fathers owned slaves. I say we start a movement to banish them all from history. No, wait. That’s what they want.
What really pisses me off is how the republicans jump on the bandwagon. I hope they lose every election coming up. Let them see how kowtowing to the left will not get them any votes.
Well, looks like they’ve found the squirrel to distract America from the TPP and the Iran deal.
Go on their website and tell them you’re a muslim and demand they stop selling pork.
Go ahead. Vote in the poll to keep the flag. See how long it is before you are outed as a racist.
Outstanding!
These mega corps only respond to the shrillest part of any public outcry and PC board of directors.
I hope there’s a big uptick in sales for Ruffin Flags:
http://www.ruffinflagcompany.net/category_v3.aspx?categoryID=182
for what it's worth....
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