![\"South](\"http:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/149273\/large\/RTX5DUD.jpg?1434725395\")
It is just breaking as we post that the South Carolina Senate voted 37-3 to remove the Confederate rag from Statehouse grounds, and now it goes to their House and Gov. Nikki Haley. But c’mon, you know this wasn’t going down without someone from the too-right-wing-for-his-own-good crowd, namely State Sen. Lee Bright (R), trying to defend it and saying something stupid – in this case provide us with a rant against the same sex marriage decision by the U.S. Supreme Court!<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
COLUMBIA, S.C. \u2014 The South Carolina Senate has voted to remove the Confederate flag from a pole on Statehouse grounds.<\/p>\n
The 37-3 vote Monday allows the state to remove the flag and the flagpole where it flies as soon as it passes the House and is signed by Gov. Nikki Haley.<\/p>\n
The bill must pass a two-thirds vote, which is likely to be held Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Monday’s vote comes less than a week after the 15th anniversary of South Carolina taking the flag off the Capitol dome where it flew since the early 1960s and moving it to beside a monument honoring Confederate soldiers.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers had largely ignored the flag until the killing of nine black people during a Bible study at a historic African-American church on June 17.<\/p>\n
Before he could address his belief that the Confederate flag should remain flying on the South Carolina State Capitol property, ultra-conservative state Sen. Lee Bright (R) decided to show the legislature the extent of his bigoted beliefs. In an almost three minute rant, he stood before the legislature and ranted against the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision legalizing gay marriage across the country and called out the White House for shining the \u201cabomination colors\u201d the night of the Court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike President Reagan said, if we\u2019re not one nation under God, we\u2019ll be one nation gone under,\u201d the lawmaker from Spartanburg, SC said early in Monday\u2019s state Senate session. \u201cAnd to sanctify deviant behavior from five judges\u2026 It\u2019s time to make our stand and we\u2019re not doing it. We can rally together and talk about a flag all we want, but the devil is taking control of this land and we\u2019re not stopping him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that \u201cwe cannot succumb to what\u2019s being done to the future of this nation\u201d and that the state legislature should take a stand against \u201csin in the state of South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bright has been one of the most vocal supporters<\/a> of the Confederate flag in the state Senate. He proposed an amendment to allow voters to decide the fate of the flag which died during debate<\/a> with a vote of 36-3. He also posted a \u201cKeep the Confederate Flag\u201d petition on his website<\/a> offering other flag supports the chance to explain why it should stay flying.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s stand together and preserve a piece of our history that symbolizes states\u2019 rights,\u201d his petition said.<\/p>\n Bright ran an unsuccessful campaign<\/a> to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), now a presidential contender, in the 2014 election. He has championed a number of extreme conservative views<\/a>, including believing that the state should allow high schools to teach students to shoot guns<\/a> and that anyone enforcing Obamacare should get a year in jail<\/a>. He also also repeatedly sought to ban public funding<\/a> for abortion for victims of rape and incest and funding for rape crisis centers<\/a>.<\/p>\n