Coalition: State lawmakers must address flag issue as 2016 legislative session begins
“As legislators return to the state Capitol this week, one of the most pressing issues they must address is the growing outcry across the state to change the flag,” said Sharon Brown, official sponsor of Initiative Measure No. 55 to amend the state Mississippi State Constitution and ban any reference to the Confederacy in the state flag. “Mississippians of all races, all faiths, all economic and educational background want the flag changed and they will be heard on this issue. If the legislature fails to act by either passing legislation to change it or by not placing the issue on the November 2016 ballot, then the people will make the change by placing Initiative 55 on the November 2018 ballot.”…
…The ballot title for Initiative Measure No. 55:
“Should the Confederate battle flag or any reference to the Confederacy be removed from the State Flag?”
The ballot summary for Initiative Measure No. 55:
Initiative Measure No. 55 proposes to add the following language to the Mississippi Constitution: “The flag of the State of Mississippi shall not contain or include any reference to the Confederate army’s battle flag or to the Confederacy.” As an enforcement mechanism, a Mississippi citizen may petition the Mississippi Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus requiring the State, its political subdivisions, their agents, officers, or employees to comply with the amendment.
WDAM
1/11/16
