News
Flags
will file past a statue of former Vice Pres-
ident John C. Calhoun, who argued in the
1820s and 1830s that states should be able
to decide not to follow federal laws they did
not like.
The last person to lie under the dome was
former Gov. Carroll Campbell in Decem-
ber 2005. Pinckney will be the first Afri-
can-American given the honor at least since
Reconstruction.
Prodded by Gov. Nikki Haley’s call to
move the flag to a museum, South Caroli-
na’s lawmakers overwhelmingly agreed to
revisit an uneasy compromise that has held
for 15 years, since mass protests succeeded
in moving the flag from atop the dome to its
current spot out front.
Politicians around the nation then joined
calls to remove historic but divisive Civil
from its prominent place inside its main
chapel to a more “appropriate” campus lo-
cation.
As with any other historic symbol in the
state, even that move will require state law-
makers to amend the same Heritage Act that
has kept the Confederate battle flag flying
high outside the statehouse, even as U.S.
and state flags were lowered to half-staff.
Four former South Carolina governors
applauded Haley on Wednesday. Signed by
Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, Dick Riley, David
Beasley and Jim Hodges, their statement
says the slayings “have reminded us of the
important bond we share as South Caroli-
na citizens. We should fly only the Unit-
ed States and South Carolina flags on our
Statehouse grounds — flags that represent
us all.”
Many said change is imperative after seeing
photos of shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof,
a 21-year-old white man, posing with the
Confederate flag and burning and desecrating
the U.S. flag
War-era symbols from their places of hon-
or, from state flags to license plates to stat-
ues and place names. Many said change is
imperative after seeing photos of shooting
suspect Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year-old
white man, posing with the Confederate flag
and burning and desecrating the U.S. flag.
Even the Citadel, South Carolina influen-
tial military college, whose cadets fired the
first shots of the Civil War, voted in favor
of moving its Confederate Naval Jack flag
AP PHOTO/MARTIN SWANT
continued from page 1
The few South Carolina lawmakers openly
day. U.S. Senator Roger Wicker became
Mississippi’s second top-tier Republican to defending the flag include Republican Jon-
call for changing the flag that state has used athon Hill, a freshman representative who
since Reconstruction. Wicker said it “should said the flag rightly flies over a monument
be put in a museum and replaced by one that dedicated to fallen Confederate soldiers. He
also said dealing with the issue so soon was
is more unifying.”
Lawmakers in Tennessee said a bust of disrespectful to the victims’ families.
“You’re going to defeat racism with love
Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan
leader Nathan Bedford Forrest must go from and forgiveness. You’re not going to defeat
their Senate. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe it with politics and certainly not with more
was among several state leaders taking aim hatred,” said Hill. “Dylann Roof wanted a
at vanity license plates with Confederate race war, and I think this has a potential to
start one in the sense that it’s a very divisive
symbols.
Businesses also moved quickly: Wal- issue,” he said, referring to the shooting sus-
Mart, e-Bay, Amazon, Target and Sears pect. “I think it could very well get ugly.”
Roof, now jailed on murder and gun
were among those removing Confederate
merchandise from stores and online sites, charges, had posed in photos displaying
and at least three major flag makers said Confederate flags and burning or desecrat-
they will no longer manufacture the Con- ing U.S. flags. A friend of his told The As-
sociated Press that Roof had talked of plan-
federate flag.
For many, these changes can’t happen ning to do something “for the white race.”
The Confederate battle flag was placed
quickly enough. For many others, it’s all too
State workers take down a Confederate national flag on the grounds of the
state Capitol, Wednesday, June 24, 2015, in Montgomery. Alabama Gov. Rob-
ert Bentley orders Confederate flags taken down from state Capitol.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for
South Carolina to be the beacon on the hill
— to show love and not vengeance, to show
unity and not division,” said Beasley, who
was voted out of office in 1998 after advo-
cating for its removal. He said he’s startled
by how many legislators have switched po-
sitions in a matter of days.
Conservative Republican lawmakers who
have led southern states for years were add-
ing their voices to these sentiments Wednes-
fast.
Confederate symbols appear all over the
South, from statehouses to courthouses to
schools and streets and parks. Already, a
growing number of statues have been de-
faced by graffiti such as #racism and “Black
Lives Matter.”
These symbols are under attack by a
“wave of political correctness” that is vil-
ifying Southern culture, complained Ben
Jones, the actor who played Cooter on the
TV series “Dukes of Hazzard.”
He said Confederate items will never be
removed from the Cooter’s Place stores he
owns in Tennessee and Virginia.
atop South Carolina’s Statehouse dome in
1961 for the 100th anniversary of the begin-
ning of the Civil War, and lawmakers decid-
ed to keep it there in 1962 in response to
the civil rights movement. After mass pro-
tests, it was moved to the flagpole out front
in 2000.
A second viewing of Pinckney will take
place Thursday morning at St. John African
Methodist Episcopal Church in his Senate
district, and Thursday night at Emanuel
AME. President Barack Obama is sched-
uled to deliver the eulogy at Pinckney’s
funeral Friday morning at the College of
Charleston.
There are no restrictions in the law about
possessing usable marijuana or plants in a
home with children. The OLCC’s view is
questions in the implementation of the new
law. For example, Measure 91 allows for
four pot plants per household, while the Or-
has been working on a licensing system
for producers, processors, wholesalers and
retail facilities, and plans to start accepting
business license applications at the begin-
ning of 2016.
The OLCC predicts having retail estab-
lishments around September 2016 but in
the meantime, it creates a market of legal
goods with no legal retailer.
The Oregon legislature has been look-
ing into authorizing selling recreational
pot through medical dispensaries instead.
Proponents of this early start say it would
cut down on the black market and help the
economy through marijuana tax revenue.
Another unsolved question is the fate of
cities and counties that want to opt out of
legalization altogether. Under Measure 91,
cities that wanted to ban recreational pot
could have a local election, but that elec-
tion won’t be able to happen until Novem-
Pot
continued from page 1
lines, including Washington which also has
legalized pot.
You are allowed to share or give away pot
to people who are also 21-years or older, but
you can’t sell it or buy it until a licensed re-
tail shop is open.
Marijuana is regulated in Oregon through
the Oregon Liquor Control Commission,
which recently launched the “What’s Legal”
public relations campaign. Tom Towslee,
who answers media inquiries about marijua-
na for the OLCC, said Oregonians should
know the new laws to be able to make re-
sponsible decisions.
“We want people to know that while mari-
juana is legal on July 1, there are limits, and
we want people to know what those limits
are,” Towslee said.
Towslee said the rules lean heavily toward
personal responsibility and he urged people
to take a common-sense approach such as
smoking in one’s backyard instead of light-
ing up on the front porch in public view.
‘We want people to know that while marijuana
is legal on July 1, there are limits, and we want
people to know what those limits are’
that the regulation of legal marijuana within
the home is matter of parental responsibili-
ty -- similar to having alcohol in the home
where children are present.
Many laws remain unchanged in the wake
of Measure 91. The legalization of marijua-
na still falls under anti-smoking legislation,
everywhere you can’t smoke cigarettes,
you also can’t smoke pot. The new law also
doesn’t affect employment law: employers
still have the right to test employees for pot
and maintain drug-free places of work.
There are also a number of unanswered
egon medical marijuana law allows for six
plants. When both laws are in effect, it is un-
known how many plants would be allowed.
Another question is the regulation of
marijuana product advertising, specifically
ensuring ads don’t appeal to children. The
Oregon legislature Joint Committee on Im-
plementing Measure 91 has been working
on these issues.
One of the biggest problems to solve in
the near future is the lack of retail availabili-
ty. As of July 1, pot can be used, but can’t be
sold, for recreational purposes. The OLCC
See POT on page 8
Charleston
continued from page 1
said.
Rev. Terry McCray Hill, pastor of the
Bethel AME Church, presided over the
gathering, which included music, prayer, a
moment of silence and the reading of the
names of the victims – and short remarks
from leaders from several different faith
communities. Hill also asked clergy and lay
people of faith in the audience to introduce
themselves as a show of solidarity and sup-
port.
“I just stopped by to tell you, it’s well in
Charleston, South Carolina, because God is
listening and he cares,” McCray Hill said
‘It’s a response to what happened in Charleston
and recognizing that people here in Portland are
going to feel affected by it and apprehensive
about going to their places of worship’
at the onset of the service. She also quoted
Rev. Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot
drive out darkness. Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can
do that.”
McCray Hill described South Carolina as
one of her “favorite places” and noted the
strong presence of AME churches in the
state. The Mother Emanuel Church was
founded in 1816 and it will last until eter-
nity, she said.
Though urging a message of hope and
faith, McCray Hill also told the audience
she had not slept the previous night. She
had stayed on the phone with a fellow AME
pastor in Philadelphia, who had to end the
conversation to talk to law enforcement
about a possible threat to his church. She
said before they hung up, he urged her to go
See CHARLESTON on page 9
June 24, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3