On Monday, state senators voted 37 to three in favor of banishing the flag from a Civil War memorial at the southern state's Republican-dominated legislature. The red, white and blue banner, which has flown for 15 years alongside the memorial, will be passed to a museum if the proposal is approved by the House of Representatives.

Calls to remove the flag increased after the June 17 massacre of nine African Americans - including a state senator – at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist, charged with the murders, had posed with the Confederate flag on a website that also carried a racist manifesto.

Critics say the flag is reminiscent of slavery and racial hatred, whereas many in the state consider it a symbol of Southern heritage that honors those who fought and died in the Civil War.

"It is the right thing to do," said Democratic state Senator Vincent Sheheen. Taking down the flag was "one small thing that we can do to heal the divide," he added.

Some senators, including those from the Republican Party, said they were moved by the fact that the relatives of Charleston victims chose to forgive Roof.

"If they could be peacemakers in those dire circumstances … I determined I can be a peacemaker when it comes to a flag flying on our State House grounds," said Senator Chip Campsen, a Republican who represents Charleston.

At least three senators spoke in favor of keeping the flag during an emotional debate on Monday.

"I do understand that what happened in Charleston got a lot of people's attention. But I believe we are placing the blame for what one deranged lunatic did on people that hold their southern heritage high and I don't think that's fair," said Republican Senator Lee Bright.

The Confederate flag was hoisted atop the State House dome in 1961 as part of the Civil War's centennial celebrations. After protests from the black community, the lawmakers agreed to move it to the capitol grounds in 2000.

Following the Charleston shooting, South Carolina's Governor Nikki Haley called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the state's capitol grounds.

shs/jil (Reuters, AFP)