ATLANTA (AP) — The head of a state authority that oversees Georgia's Stone Mountain Park says Confederate flags will continue flying at a memorial plaza there because state law prevents their removal.
Bill Stephens, chief executive officer of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, said Wednesday that the law would have to be changed for the flags to be removed.
Stephens said the park's Flag Terrace, where multiple versions of Confederate flags fly, was donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1964. He said it's considered a memorial and, as such, can't be removed or relocated under Georgia law.
Earlier, Stephens said the park's leaders were considering what to do about the flags.
The rebel banner has come under renewed criticism nationwide after a June 17 church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina.
