IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 344 
Urging the discontinued use of the Confederate battle flag, which represents 
pain, humiliation, torture, and racial oppression, in remembrance of 
the Emanuel 9. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2015 
Mr. CLYBURN (for himself, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. ADAMS, 
Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 
CLAY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of 
Illinois, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. AL GREEN of 
Texas, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 
Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE, Ms. JACK-
SON LEE, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RICH-
MOND, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 
VEASEY, Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. 
BASS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judici-
ary 
RESOLUTION 
Urging the discontinued use of the Confederate battle flag, 
which represents pain, humiliation, torture, and racial 
oppression, in remembrance of the Emanuel 9. 
Whereas the Confederate battle flag has always been recog-
nized as a deeply offensive symbol of opposition to civil 
rights legislation, integration, justice, education, and ac-
cess to equal opportunity; 
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•HRES 344 IH 
Whereas officials have called for the removal of the Confed-
erate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina 
State House in light of the shooting at the Emanuel Afri-
can Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South 
Carolina, where the following nine citizens were killed be-
cause they were African-American: Rev. Clementa Pinck-
ney, Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr., Tywanza Sanders, Cyn-
thia Hurd, Sharonda Singleton, Myra Thompson, Susie 
Jackson, Ethel Lance, and Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doc-
tor; 
Whereas for decades, prominent African-American leaders 
along with members of the general public have fought 
and called for the removal of the Confederate battle flag, 
as an insulting representation of humiliation, torture, and 
racial oppression; 
Whereas Walmart, Sears, eBay, and Amazon will discontinue 
selling merchandise displaying the Confederate battle 
flag; 
Whereas three other States still have depictions of or sym-
bolic references to the Confederate battle flag adopted in 
their own flags, including— 
(1) Mississippi: the upper-left corner of the State 
flag is a smaller version of the Confederate battle flag; 
(2) Alabama: the red cross of the State flag was de-
signed to preserve some of the distinctive features and 
ideals of the Confederate battle flag; and 
(3) Florida: the cross on the State flag was inspired 
by the design of the Alabama flag; 
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 
ruling on June 18, 2015, in Walker v. Texas Division, 
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., stating that Texas 
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•HRES 344 IH 
did not violate the Constitution by prohibiting license 
plates depicting the Confederate battle flag; 
Whereas Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and 
West Virginia continue to allow the depiction of the Con-
federate battle flag on license plates; and 
Whereas continued display of the Confederate battle flag has 
resulted in perpetual racial tension and conflict; instilled 
pain in the lives of American people; and been appro-
priated as a symbol of hatred, brutality, and oppression: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives, under-
standing that the United States can achieve a more per-
fect Union through avoidance of ‘‘government speech’’ 
which promotes or displays symbols, signs, and vestiges 
of racism, oppression, and intimidation in the States, lo-
calities, and territories, and urging the promotion of toler-
ance and unity by taking actions to ensure that ‘‘govern-
ment speech’’ does not foster division, disharmony, or in-
tolerance through government-issued or sponsored flags, 
signs, images, or other symbols— 
(1) urges States hanging the Confederate battle 
flag in public and State locations to remove the flag; 
(2) urges States to discontinue use of the Con-
federate battle flag and its likeness on any property 
deemed governmental speech, including license 
plates; 
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•HRES 344 IH 
(3) urges businesses to discontinue selling Con-
federate battle flags and any related merchandise; 
and 
(4) urges States with flags that include depic-
tions of and symbolic references to the Confederate 
battle flag to remove those depictions and references. 
Æ 
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