Obama Believes South Carolina Capitol's Confederate Flag Belongs In A Museum

The White House said Friday that President Barack Obama thinks the Confederate flag that currently flies outside the South Carolina statehouse belongs in a museum, according to Reuters.

Debate over the flag was reignited after nine people were shot and killed in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday.

The flag, which flies next to the statehouse at the Confederate Soldier's Monument, is not only protected by law, but also protected by a padlock that keeps it in place. The flag is not on a pulley system, so it can't be lowered to half-staff.

On Friday, NAACP President Cornell Brooks called for the flag to come down. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) disagreed, saying removing the flag “should not be the immediate solution."

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said she thinks "the state will start talking about that again" but declined to say if she thought it should come down. She's previously said she doesn't think the flag needs to be removed, but noted it's a "sensitive issue."