Florida Senate votes to remove Confederate flag from seal

By Kelly Cohen, Kelly Cohen

Published December 20, 2015

The Florida Senate has officially removed the Confederate battle flag from the chamber's official seal.

The Senate on Monday voted unanimously, without discussion or objections, to revise the seal, which contains the rebel flag along with four other flags that have at one point flown in Florida. The new seal will replace the Confederate battle flag with five other flags, including flags of the United States, Great Britain, France and Spain.

The decision to remove the symbol came after Senate Democratic Leader Arthenia Joyner requested it be struck from the logo.

"The recommendation to remove the Confederate flag from our seal will never erase a painful period in Florida's history, nor the blood recently spilled in a South Carolina church in its name," Joyner said during her initial request in June. "But the unified voices ratifying this action gives us hope for healing these wounds once and for all. And, as we look forward to the full Senate's endorsement, a powerful symbol that we stand together as one."

Her request to the chamber came after a shooting at a South Carolina church left nine African Americans dead. The accused shooter, Dylann Roof, appeared in numerous photos with the Confederate flag, causing the flag's use to come under fire nationwide.