‘A symbol of hate.’ Michigan senator wants to ban Confederate flag from Statehouse

Michigan backed the Union in the Civil War, and the Confederate flag has no place at the state’s Capitol, Democratic Sen. Sylvia Santana said in a statement Wednesday, announcing she would introduce a bill to ban the symbol from Statehouse grounds.

The announcement comes just days after a fellow senator, Republican Dale Zorn, attracted national attention for wearing a Confederate flag-patterned mask on the Senate floor, “an error in judgment” for which he later apologized, McClatchy News reported.

Santana’s bill comes in response to that incident.

“The Confederate battle flag is viewed by many — regardless of gender, ethnicity, or political affiliation — as a symbol of hate and racism,” Santana’s statement said. “It represents a tragic time in American history that led millions of Americans to fight and die against the oppression of slavery. Some claim it is a symbol of southern pride, however, Michigan’s role as a stalwart member of the Union during the Civil War should preclude those in Michigan claiming southern pride.”

Santana isn’t the only lawmaker speaking out following the mask episode.

Sen. Erika Geiss, a Democrat, argued that the Senate should tweak its rules to “prohibit the adornment, display or promotion of symbols, attire, logo or insignia of the Confederacy and or white supremacy in any legislative chamber by its members,” Michigan Live reported.

Geiss also said Zorn deserves to be censured -- formally reprimanded by the Senate -- and called his apology “hollow” and “insufficient to reflect the consequences and gravity of the actions,” according to the outlet.

While Zorn publicly apologized the day after the April 25 incident, he initially denied the mask was patterned after the flag of the Confederacy and said it was actually the flag of either Kentucky or Tennessee, McClatchy News reported.