Locals speak out on Confederate Flag controversy

at nine is already getting hot on our facebook page tonight. we’re asking: should confederate flags be removed from public display on all government property? it comes in the wake of last week’s deadly shooting inside a charleston church. south carolina governor nikki haley reversed her position on the divisive symbol joing the state’s two senators. this after growing calls for the flag to be removed from statehouse grounds. the white man arrested from the shooting and killing of nine people allegedly used the flag as a symbol for white supremacy. abc-7’s maria garcia is live in our studio tonight. maria? in the borderland: you’ll also see some symbols of the confederacy. and you’ll hear some who think they should stay: 36-42 01:58 a flag by itself isn’t going to cause people to do bad things. that flag gave his shooter and others like him, a banner under which to justify their actions. in south carolina, the cries against the flag are loud. , disagreeing – groups like the sons of the confederacy – and locally, el paso historical commission member bernie sargent. 00:13 it’s one more effort to rewrite history. the confederate flag by itself that people identify the confederacy with really wasn’t the confederate flag – it was a battle flag and it flew over the army of virginia and the army of tennessee who also had african americans in their ranks at the time though most scholars say blacks had little to no choice if they fought for the south. there are confederate symbols in the borderland – like here at the anthony rest stop where this flag is flow – it’s a lesser known original version of the confederate flag established in 1861. or robert e lee road in east el paso. sot: you can’t separate the heritage from the hatred that’s associated with it. the flag did gain popularity after its use by the kkk and by groups who opposed the civil rights movement. though sargent says hate groups don’t monopolize the flag’s meaning. 02:48 to say that the arian nation or other groups like that have ownership of that flag is just totally false but bishop richard johnson of el paso’s destiny christian center says it’s painful to look at. 02:11 it does symbolize a trying and hurtful time in the time of black americans five southern states have legal protection for the flag – mississippi even features it on its onw flag, but california bans it. by the way the man who designed the confederate flag that flies in anthony: when he designed it said they were fighting to maintain white supremacy.