Keep flag out of county courtroom
The decision to re-open the courtroom in the York County Courthouse without the Confederate flag that had flown there is not only the moral thing to do but also, we think, a logical reading of the state’s Heritage Act.
The controversy over the flag has simmered since the county’s Clerk of Court David Hamilton announced in January that he would not put the flag back in the newly renovated courthouse. Hamilton said at the time that the Confederate battle flag is offensive and viewed by many people as a symbol of racism and intolerance.
He stated – and we agree – that the flag has no place in a court of law.
Soon after Hamilton made his decision public, however, questions arose about whether the county might be on a collision course with the state’s Heritage Act. That prompted a request to S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson for a clarification of the law.
The Heritage Act was passed in 2000 as part of the compromise that moved the Confederate flag from the top of the Statehouse dome to its grounds. The law requires a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House before any changes to war monuments or public property named for historical figures can be made.
But last week Hamilton decided that the courtroom would reopen next month without the flag inside. York County officials also sent Wilson a letter saying they believe the decision not to return the flag to the courtroom is legal even under the restraints of the Heritage Act.
That view makes sense. County officials argue that the flag and some other Confederate relics that were in the courtroom do not constitute a memorial or permanent monument of any kind.
The items were simply decorations that could have been relocated at any time. We know a statue of a Civil War soldier in a town square is a monument, but that same definition shouldn’t apply to such things as mobile flags, framed pictures of historical figures or even drapes with a historical theme depicted on them.
The county might consider replacing the flag if ordered to do so by the attorney general. But the controversy has spawned objections to the flag from a number of public officials.
Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols and York Mayor Eddie Lee both oppose returning the flag to the courtroom. So do York County Public Defender Harry Dest and his chief deputy, B.J. Barrowclough.
Officials with the NAACP oppose the flag, and York County attorney Montrio Belton, treasurer of the York County Bar Association, has threatened legal action if the flag is replaced. State Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, also has filed a bill in the S.C. House that would make flying the Confederate flag illegal in any public building, including the York County Courthouse.
Passage of that bill is unlikely in a state where many residents still treasure the historical legacy of the flag. But state lawmakers nonetheless need to revise the Heritage Act to grant more authority to local communities regarding placement of monuments and memorials, and names on public buildings.
York County shouldn’t be forced by the state to hang a flag that, to many South Carolinians, is a symbol of racial injustice and hatred in its courtroom.
This story was originally published March 11, 2017 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Keep flag out of county courtroom."