[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 466 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 466

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with regard to the 
                continued display of Confederate flags.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2000

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. Hilliard, Ms. Millender-
 McDonald, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs. Meeks of Florida, Mr. Owens, 
  Ms. Carson, Ms. Kilpatrick, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Jones of 
 Ohio, Mr. Clay, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Payne, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Dixon, 
  Mr. Rush, Mr. Maloney of Connecticut, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Engel, Mr. 
Davis of Illinois, Mr. Towns, Mr. Meeks of New York, Ms. McKinney, Mr. 
 Wexler, Ms. Lee, Mr. Frost, Mr. Filner, and Mr. Rangel) submitted the 
   following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with regard to the 
                continued display of Confederate flags.

Whereas in his 1861 speech entitled ``Slavery the Cornerstone of the 
        Confederacy'', Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice President of the 
        Confederate States of America stated, ``The prevailing ideas entertained 
        by [Thomas Jefferson] and most of the leading statesmen at the time of 
        the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the 
        African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in 
        principle, socially, morally, and politically. . . . Our new government 
        is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its 
        corner-stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to 
        the white man; that slavery--subordination to the superior race--is his 
        natural and normal condition'';
Whereas article 1, section 9, clause 4 of the Constitution of the Confederate 
        States of America provides that ``[n]o bill of attainder, ex post facto 
        law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves 
        shall be passed'';
Whereas article 4, section 3, clause 3 of that Constitution provides that ``[i]n 
        all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in 
        the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected by Congress 
        and the territorial government'';
Whereas the pledge of allegiance to the Confederate flag states, ``I salute the 
        Confederate Flag, with affection, reverence, and undying devotion to the 
        cause for which it stands'';
Whereas the first, second, and third official Confederate flags, the Confederate 
        Navy Jack, and the Confederate battle flag are all direct 
        representations of the Confederacy and its documented advocacy of the 
        subordination of people of African descent through the perpetuation of 
        the slave trade;
Whereas many white supremacist groups recognize the inherently racist 
        implications of the flag and frequently use it as a historically 
        significant representation of their present day desire to strip 
        nonwhites, frequently through wanton acts of violence, of the rights 
        guaranteed them by the United States Constitution and relegate them to 
        the position of noncitizens and, in some cases, nonhumans;
Whereas the State of Georgia has introduced legislation to remove the 
        Confederate flag from its official State flag;
Whereas the Civil War is the most divisive domestic insurrection in our shared 
        national history and continues to be a culturally polemic issue among 
        many segments of the American population; and
Whereas the Confederacy was defeated in its attempt to destroy the United States 
        of America by tearing the Nation apart: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives does not support, 
condone, or encourage the use or display of the first, second, or third 
official Confederate flag, the Confederate Navy Jack, or the 
Confederate battle flag (more commonly know as the ``Southern Cross'') 
for any reason other than as a historic reminder of the secession of 
the Confederate States, which prompted the violent, bloody, and 
divisive Civil War, and of the Confederacy's flagrant disregard for the 
equality of all Americans in accordance with the United States 
Constitution and in the eyes of God.
                                 <all>