Passage of Two Huffman Amendments Would Curtail Sales, Displays of Confederate Flags

Press Release

The U.S. House of Representatives last night unanimously approved two amendments offered by Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) to prevent the future sale of Confederate flag merchandise in National Park Service (NPS) stores and to disallow any grave in any Federal cemetery operated by the Park Service to be decorated with a Confederate flag.

"While many concessionaires have agreed to follow the request of the National Park Service, I am dismayed by reports that some will continue to sell items with Confederate flag imagery," said Huffman. "I am very pleased that the House has now, in a bipartisan manner, supported my amendments and joined the movement to end the public promotion of the cruel, racist legacy of the Confederacy."

In June, the National Park Service urged gift shops and bookstores to stop the sale of Confederate flag merchandise. Huffman's amendment to the Interior Appropriations Act of 2015 would prevent the future sale of all non-educational merchandise, whether belt buckles, lapel pins, or posters. In some Southern states with "Confederate Memorial Day," the National Park Service currently allows local organizations to decorate Confederate graves with Confederate flags. NPS policy is to remove these flags as quickly as possible after the "Confederate Memorial Day." Huffman's amendment would prevent them from allowing the local organizations to decorate the graves in the first place.

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