Republican S.C. State Rep. Doug Brannon Vows Legislation to Remove Confederate Flag

"From Charleston, South Carolina, to the statehouse steps in Columbia, there is anger over the Confederate flag and all it represents. The mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston has reignited the debate over whether officials should remove the Confederate flag from state property," CBS reports. 

Saturday night, a Confederate memorial in Charleston was spray painted with the words "black lives matter," and Confederate flags were also burned.  Many see the flag as a symbol of racism.

Republican state representative Doug Brannon says it's time to remove the Confederate flag from the State House, though a bill can't be introduced until December. 

"The switch that flipped was the death of my friend Sen. [Clementa] Pinckney," says Brannon. "I've been in the House five years. I should have filed that bill five years ago. But the time is now, I can't let my friend the senator's death go without fundamental change in South Carolina.

What other Republicans support Representative Doug Brannon? CBS reports only two this morning:

• Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney Tweeted on Saturday: "Take down the #ConfederateFlag at the SC Capitol. To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred."
• Jeb Bush stated that while he was Governor of Florida, he ordered the flag moved "to a museum where it belonged."

And after Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said this afternoon in a news conference:  "Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it is time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds."

More Republicans stepped up and supported the cause. 

Lindsey Graham changed his tune and stated on Twitter: "After the tragic, hate-filled shooting in Charleston, it is only appropriate that we deal once and for all with the issue of the flag."

What are your thoughts about the Confederate flag? Should manufactures retire the flag completely? Sound off below.