The Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate passed on Sunday House Bill 1796, an act that would remove the current state flag design and create a commission that would offer options for a new flag style for citizens to vote during the November election.
The House passed the bill by a vote 91-13. The Senate passed the bill 37-14. The act now heads to Gov. Tate Reeves, who indicated he planned to sign the bill into law.
District 78 and 84 Reps. Randy Rushing (R-Decatur) and Troy Smith (R-Enterprise) both voted no on the issue. District 31 Sen. Tyler McCaughn, R-Newton, also voted no on the bill.
McCaughn said Sunday night that he voted “nay” to honor a campaign promise he made to the voters of District 31. He said he did that not only Sunday, but also on the vote to suspend the rules Saturday when he voted no in a paired vote with yes by Sen. Philip Moran (R-Bay St. Louis).
“I made a promise to the voters of District 31 that I would give the people an opportunity to choose whether they want to keep the current flag of Mississippi,” McCaughn said. “I honored that commitment today and every time this has come up for a vote. I did not want to change the flag if the people of Mississippi didn’t get a chance to vote on it.”
During session Sunday afternoon, McCaughn co-sponsored an amendment by District 40 Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, that would have added a referendum on the current flag itself. It was tabled by the Senate 32-19 with McCaughn being one of the 19 voting against tabling the amendment.
If that amendment had passed, McCaughn would have voted in favor of HB 1796.
“I co-sponsored an amendment that would have given the people a chance to vote on keeping the flag,” McCaughn said. “That was exactly what I wanted, but the amendment didn’t pass.”
Once signed, the bill would establish a commission to create new flag proposals for voters to choose, but it “shall not include the design of the Confederate battle flag.” It would, however, include the words “In God We Trust” on the new flag.
The new flag designs must be released by Sept. 14 so that any flag designs can be included in color on the November general election ballot.
McCaughn said personally he thought the flag needed to change, but he could not support changing it without the consent of the voters. He also felt like that this option might not give the state the right symbol to unify the state.
“It’s all about the process of doing it the right way,” McCaughn said. “When I drive the district, I don’t see the (state flag) being flown much throughout the district. I don’t even see the U.S. flag being flown that much. I do think that we needed a state symbol that everyone can get behind, but I’m not sure if that’s what we’re getting.
“I’m concerned that the commission is going to come up with a design that will not represent our state in a way that everyone agrees with. If it doesn’t pass on election day, we will be right back to where we are now. We could go over a year without a state flag.”
One thing he does hope going forward is the people of District 31 and Mississippi can move forward together in unity.
“Another senator and I voted differently on this. He voted yes; I voted no. But when we were done, we still hugged each other and we will move on,” McCaughn said. “I hope that maybe this will help us end this issue once and for all. The good news is that our flag will have the words ‘In God We Trust’ on it as long as the courts don’t make us remove them. I do think that is something that might help unify us.”
