A spokesperson for Florida state Sen. Jay Collins (R) said his bill authorizing that the Confederate flag be flown in state and local government buildings was an “error.”
Collins filed an amendment to a flag ban bill on Tuesday that listed flags that would still be allowed to fly outside state buildings. The list included the U.S. flag, Florida’s state and county flags and “the flag of the Confederate States.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Collins’ spokesperson Ted Veerman said the amendment was “filed in error” and has been withdrawn.
“Jay Collins is an American patriot who personally sewed his arm back together on the battlefield in Afghanistan as he was hemorrhaging blood along with losing his leg due to injuries sustained in active combat in defense of the flag of the United States of America,” Veerman said. “Any insinuation that Jay is a confederate sympathizer is disgusting.”
“This amendment draft was filed in error and has already been pulled as we work to ensure the wording of our bill is in line with the state constitution and statute, which is what created this issue in the first place,” Veerman added.
However, Democrats aren’t buying Collins’ explanation that the amendment was filed by mistake.
“I don’t believe for a second that it was done in error. How do you erroneously file an amendment? I’ve done plenty of amendments in my 16 years. I’ve never heard of it.” Former Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner (D) told Florida Bulldog. “This amendment was more than a mistake. It was language that will govern the flags that can or cannot be flown in public buildings in Florida. An apology from the senator is what is required here, not a statement from his spokesperson calling it an ‘error.’ This is a major faux pas and is inexcusable for a man who swore to uphold the constitution.”
Collins’ amendment did not include the Pride flag in the list of flags that are authorized to fly in state buildings. Activists believe this was the true intent behind the flag ban bill in the first place.
“At first glance, this feels like a no-brainer that this is directed at pride flags,” Maxx Fenning, president of LGBTQ advocacy group PRISM said, according to Newsweek. “We see continuous attacks on efforts to erase us, marginalized people, our community, and to write us out of existence.”
