Lawmaker's Confederate flag Facebook post sparks debate (ID)

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26, 2015, 4:02 A.M.
By Betsy Z. Russell

An Idaho state representative’s Facebook post of herself proudly posing with a Confederate flag has touched a nerve in the state, which still resents being associated with the racism of Richard Butler’s Aryan Nations. Rep. Heather Scott, a Blanchard Republican, posted the picture on Facebook along with the message: “Protecting and promoting our freedom of speech is an honor” ...

... Scott .. said, “We see it as a symbol of free speech.”

But Tony Stewart, a founding member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, called the Confederate flag “a symbol of segregation… a symbol of discrimination.”

“We find it very unfortunate that any political leader would send such a message to their constituents that would be so highly offended or hurt by that symbol,” said Stewart. “Hate speech is protected under the First Amendment,” said Stewart, a longtime professor of political science at North Idaho College. “But we also would really, really encourage people not to do that, because it doesn’t move us forward towards equality. It resurfaces a form of discrimination” ...

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2015/aug/26/lawmakers-confederate-flag-facebook-post-sparks-debate/