Georgia lawmakers vote on flag

ATLANTA – Georgia lawmakers agreed to shrink the Confederate emblem on the state flag to a tiny symbol yesterday, heeding a plea from the governor to apply the "salve of reconciliation" and avoid the turmoil that swept South Carolina.

The 34-22 vote in the Georgia Senate virtually consigns to history a flag that some say symbolizes Southern valor but others contend represents slavery. The measure won House approval last week, and Gov. Roy Barnes promised to sign it quickly.

"I think the people of Georgia were ready to move on; they were ready for this matter to be resolved" he said.

The rebel banner, added to the flag in 1956 in what some historians say was a gesture of contempt for school desegregation, occupies two-thirds of the current flag.

On the new flag, it will be reduced to one of five historic flags displayed along the bottom edge, below the state seal. On a standard 3-by-5-foot flag, the small flags are little bigger than a dollar bill.

It wasn't immediately clear when the new banners would fly at state buildings. The design was unveiled just last week.

Civil rights groups promised to call off any boycotts in Georgia if the new flag was approved.