By ,
Published May 02, 2016
Several South Carolina lawmakers are backing an assortment of oddball amendments that could complicate efforts to order the removal of the Confederate flag from Capitol grounds.
As of Tuesday, Republican state Rep. Michael Pitts had filed 24 amendments to the proposal, which is before the House after passing the state Senate on an overwhelming 36-3 vote.
The amendments are eclectic and unorthodox.
A third of them propose taking down nearly all capital monuments and replacing them with “suitable landscaping, foliage, or sidewalks.” The monuments include not only Confederate symbols, but also African-American, Revolutionary War, and Spanish War memorials.
Another calls for alternative war flags to be raised that “must be illuminated at night” and protected by “an appropriate decorative iron fence.”
Another demands the American flag atop the Capitol be upside-down.
He named his revisions the “Politically Correct Revision Act of 2015.”
The proposals could create turbulence for the Confederate flag push, launched after nine black church members were fatally shot, allegedly by a white gunman, in Charleston last month.
Any amendments to the Senate bill would require the two chambers to iron out the differences. And the final legislation still would have to pass by a two-thirds vote to reach Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk.
Many legislators question Pitts’ intentions. “The truth is that any amendment either leaves the flag up or keeps us in legislative session all summer long,” state Rep. Norman Brannon told The New York Times.
Still, Pitts has garnered eight co-sponsors. He defended his position in a statement.
“I don’t see that this incident has any bearing on the flag or the flag has bearing on the incident,” he said of the shooting. “Racism exists no matter whether you try to use the flag as a symbol for that or not. …We cannot erase our heritage based on the actions of one deranged individual.”
Pitts could not be reached for comment by FoxNews.com.
By state law, amendments are required to be debated, and Pitts reportedly has some 100 amendments he could propose during debate.
The House could invoke a cloture motion with a two-thirds majority that would prevent new amendments from being added.
FoxNews.com’s Matthew Fossen contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sc-push-to-remove-confederate-flag-scrambled-by-oddball-amendments