Philip Gunn, House Speaker, said that he believed it was a historic moment for our state and that it was the right thing. He was surprised by the reaction of his Republican House majority when he declared his support for changing its flag. Gunn stated, “The bottom line of it is that the image of our country hangs in the balance.” We talk about the business and economic impact. All of those things are true, but the bottom line remains that this is the right thing to be doing.” The design would not include the Confederate Battle Flag, but it would include the words “In God we Trust.” If voters reject the design, the resolution states that the commission will present another option to them during the 2021 legislative session. White stated that “We cannot have the banner for freedom with the banner of hatred in the other.” It doesn’t work that way.” The Senate Rules committee later in the afternoon passed the resolution. The resolution will now be sent to the Senate floor for approval. It requires two-thirds (35 out of 52 Senate members), to be passed. Only one lawmaker in the House — Rep. Jeffrey Guice (R-Ocean Springs) – attempted to add an amend to the resolution to allow the issue to be placed on the ballot to hold a statewide referendum, rather than the Legislature taking the action to remove it. Guice stated that if people don’t have a chance to vote on it, we will see (citizen sponsored) referendum after referendum. On a loud voice vote, the amendment was defeated. The discussion before the resolution was put to vote was non-contentious. Members listened carefully and some even recorded the meeting on their phones. Rep. Ed Blackmon (D-Canton) spoke of his experience on the flag commission in 2001 and how it turned out to be “not an exploration of ideas but an expression of hurt, hatred, divisiveness, and racial conflict.” “Some of us notice it every single time we come in here, and it isn’t a pleasant feeling…. It should be something that fills you with pride, so that we know that it’s about all of us. Sources close to House leadership stated that if the suspension of rules passes, they would file and pass a bill to immediately remove the state flag. It required a two thirds majority (82 of 122 House members) to pass the resolution. The resolution was approved with immediate release. It can then move to the Senate chamber and then the Senate committee. This requires a two thirds majority in Senate (35 of 52 members). The suspension resolution can be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This will allow lawmakers to pass a bill that would replace or remove the state flag. These considerations require a simple majority of both the House and Senate to pass (62 out of 122 House members, 27 out of 52 Senate members)._x000D