Gunn: Let Mississippi voters decide on Confederate emblem

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The Mississippi House speaker says that because voters kept the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag 15 years ago, they should get to choose again if the design is reconsidered.

Republican Speaker Philip Gunn also says he’s trying to find consensus on bills to either remove the emblem from the flag or punish colleges and local governments that refuse to fly the banner.

Tuesday is the deadline for House and Senate committees to act on general bills filed in their own chamber, and several flag bills await debate.

After black worshippers were killed in a South Carolina church last summer and the white man charged was seen in photos holding the rebel flag, Gunn said the emblem should be removed from the Mississippi flag because it’s divisive.