President Obama Signs Executive Order Banning Confederate Flag-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
President Obama has signed an executive order that bans the Confederate flag under a federal hate crime law.
The Truth:
President Obama didn’t sign an executive order that bans the Confederate flag.
The website Real News, Right Now falsely reported that President Obama’s executive order would make it illegal to manufacture, distribute or possess Confederate flags:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a White House-hosted dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan Mondayevening, President Obama, flanked by select cabinet members, announced he has signed into law an executive order banning the manufacturing, distribution, and possession of Confederate flags and other memorabilia.
“When our values are threatened, we come together as one nation,” Mr. Obama said. “As Americans, we insist that nobody should be targeted because of who they are, or what they look like, who they love, how they worship. We stand united against these hateful acts.”
The executive order is the 209th issued by President Obama since taking office and is being hailed as a major victory against racism. Based largely on Germany’s anti-Nazi laws, the order, which officially goes into effect on June 18th, makes it illegal to possess “any item or symbol bearing the sign of the Confederacy.” President Obama, calling the Confederate flag a “symbol of hatred,” compared its history to that off the Third Reich, saying, “You don’t see government buildings in Germany flying the Nazi flag, we shouldn’t have to see the Confederate flag here.”
The article also (falsely) reported that President Obama’s executive order would make possession of a Confederate flag a federal hate crime, and that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had ordered the immediate removal of the Confederate flag from the state building to comply with the new federal law.
According to the Federal Register, President Obama has signed no such executive order. And Nikki Haley has called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the state capitol building in South Carolina, but she didn’t order its immediate removal to comply with federal law.