COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) — Chanting "bring it down, bring it down," hundreds gathered in Tuesday's sweltering heat to demand the removal of the Confederate battle flag from outside South Carolina's Statehouse, while lawmakers inside took their first step toward removing the historic but divisive symbol. 
 
 Protesters hold signs as they chant during a rally to take down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina Statehouse, Tuesday, June 23, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. The shooting deaths of nine people at a... (Associated Press) 
 
 Christian Mergner, of Columbia, S.C., holds a sign during a rally to take down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina Statehouse, Tuesday, June 23, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. The shooting deaths of... (Associated Press) 
 
 Kirt Moody, of Columbia, S.C. holds a sign during a rally to take down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina Statehouse, Tuesday, June 23, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. The shooting deaths of nine people... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Confederate flag flies next to the Alabama Confederate Memorial on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol building in Montgomery, Ala., Monday, June 22, 2015. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via... (Associated Press) 
 
 A confederate flag flies next to the Alabama Confederate Memorial on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol building in Montgomery, Ala., Monday, June 22, 2015. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via... (Associated Press) 
 
 South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, center, embraces U.S. Sen. Tim Scott during a news conference in the South Carolina State House, Monday, June 22, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Haley said that the Confederate... (Associated Press) 
 
 John Miller speaks in favor of the Confederate flag to the media during a rally to take down the flag at the South Carolina Statehouse, Tuesday, June 23, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. A crowd gathered Tuesday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters hold a sign during a rally to take down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina Statehouse, Tuesday, June 23, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. For years, South Carolina lawmakers refused to revisit... (Associated Press) 
 
 South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks during a news conference in the South Carolina State House, Monday, June 22, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Haley said that the Confederate flag should come down from the... (Associated Press) 
 
 Within minutes of convening a special session on the budget Tuesday, legislators agreed to debate the flag removal once the final budget is approved during another session later this summer. 
 
 Gov. Nikki Haley's unexpected call for the flag to come down also reverberated around the South Tuesday, as a growing number of other politicians announced their own against the rebel standard. 
 
 Haley's reversal was prompted by last week's massacre of nine black people inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopalian church in Charleston in what authorities describe as a racial hate crime. Her move suddenly eroded the position many southern lawmakers have held onto throughout their careers: that debating the status of the Confederate flag would be too racially divisive today. 
 
 "The hate-filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in Charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. In no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect, and in many ways, revere it," Haley said Monday. But she said that for many others, it is a "deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past," and argued that removing it from such a public space will help South Carolina come together and heal. 
 
 Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin called it impractical and disrespectful to publicly debate the topic this week, "out of respect for the services that will be held." 
 
 On Wednesday, mourners are expected to file past the coffin of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney beneath the Statehouse dome. On Friday, President Barack Obama plans to deliver the eulogy at Pinckney's funeral in Charleston. 
 
 But Najee Washington, granddaughter of victim Ethel Lance, said swift action would mean a lot to her family. 
 
 "That would be great," said Washington, 23, who lived with Lance. "It's just a part of the past that we don't need to be reminded of every day." 
 
 During the rally, a shouting match broke out at the base of the Confederate monument where South Carolina's rebel flag flies atop a 30-foot pole, in full view of U.S. and state flags flying at half-staff. 
 
 "This flag is heritage. If you take it down you won't get rid of racism. The flag didn't pull the trigger. The flag didn't kill anybody. That was an individual that did that," said Mark Garman, 56, of Eastover, one of a handful of flag supporters in the crowd of hundreds. 
 
 Tom Clements knows this heritage — he brought a poster displaying details and photos about his great-great grandfather, who fought for the Confederacy, and three great-great uncles who died for the South. He said he loved the Confederate flag growing up, but now sees it as a symbol of oppression. 
 
 "The racists took over the memories of the Confederacy," said Clements, who joined the chants of "bring it down." 
 
 The only Republican to speak at Tuesday's anti-flag rally, Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort, said he supports removing the flag and believes it will happen, but he asked the crowd to respect all views as the debate begins. 
 
 "There are some very good and decent people in up there in the General Assembly without a racist bone in their body who revere that flag. And I think it is important ... that we let them have their say," Davis said. 
 
 Making any changes to the banner requires a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers under the terms of the 2000 deal that moved a square version of the flag to a monument to Confederate soldiers out front. 
 
 State GOP Chairman Matt Moore said he believes both parties are committed to bringing it down. 
 
 "With enough political will anything can be done," Moore said. "There is a silent majority of South Carolinians who strongly believe we can have a better future without the flag being on Statehouse grounds." 
 
 Haley's announcement came only days after authorities announced murder charges against Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year-old white man who told a friend that he had a plan to do something "for the white race" and posed in photos displaying Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags. 
 
 Leaders in other states swiftly followed suit: Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn called for removing the Confederate emblem to be removed from the state flag, and in Tennessee, both Democrats and Republicans said a bust of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest must be removed from the Senate. 
 
 Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday ordered the replacement of vanity license plates depicting the Confederate flag, saying the banner is "hurtful" for too many people. And Kentucky's Republican nominee for governor, Matt Bevin, called for removing a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from his Capitol's rotunda. 
 
 Big businesses also took action: Wal-Mart, e-Bay and Sears Holding Corp. announced they would no longer sell merchandise featuring the Confederate flag, which e-Bay called a "contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism." 
 
 The Confederate battle flag was placed atop the Statehouse dome in the 1960s as an official protest of the civil rights movement. After mass protests, it was moved to a flagpole next to a Confederate monument out front in 2000, as part of a compromise between a group of black lawmakers and the Republicans who have controlled South Carolina since 2001. 
 
 For years, South Carolina lawmakers sought shelter in that bipartisan compromise, saying that renewing the debate would unnecessarily revive painful divisions. Nationally, politicians said it was up to the state to decide. But after Haley's announcement Monday, even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined the call to remove it. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Drew reported from Charleston, South Carolina. 

 Story highlights eBay and Amazon join Walmart and Sears in banning Confederate flag merchandise 
 
 (CNN) America's leading merchants have spoken: The Confederate flag is coming off the shelves. 
 
 Walmart, Amazon, eBay and Sears all announced bans on the sale of Confederate flag merchandise, amid an intensifying national debate over the use of the controversial flag. 
 
 The announcements are the latest indication that the flag, a symbol of the slave-holding South, has become toxic in the aftermath of a shooting last week at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. Gov. Nikki Haley announced in a Monday afternoon news conference that she supports removing the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds. 
 
 Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag A veteran of the Confederate States of America examines a Union water bottle in front of a Confederate flag. Here's a look at the evolution of that flag. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag The first national flag of the Confederate States of America was created in 1861 and had seven stars to represent the breakaway states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag The second National Flag of the Confederacy was issued by the Confederate Congress on May 1, 1863. This flag was designed to have a distinct difference from the Union's Stars and Stripes. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag The third National Flag of the Confederacy was the final flag of the Confederate government and was adopted on March 4, 1865. The flag was not used long before the Confederacy surrendered. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag The Confederate Battle flag known as the "Southern Cross" has 13 stars to represent the defeated Confederate States of America. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Evolution of the Confederate flag Dixiecrats resurrected the "Southern Cross" flag as a political symbol around the time President Harry Truman supported efforts to end lynchings and desegregate the military in 1948. During that same period, the Ku Klux Klan began using the flag more widely. Hide Caption 6 of 6 
 
 "We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment -- whether in our stores or on our web site," said Walmart spokesman Brian Nick. "We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly -- this is one of those instances." 
 
 A spokesperson for Amazon told CNN Tuesday afternoon that the company would also remove Confederate flag merchandise. 
 
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– The movement to ditch the Confederate flag is now steamrolling along: Amazon and eBay today forbid the sale of any flag-related merchandise, reports CNN. (Walmart already did so, as did Sears.) An eBay spokesperson provides an explanation that is beginning to sound familiar after images surfaced of Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof posing with the flag: It has "become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism." In South Carolina, meanwhile, lawmakers today took their first step toward removing the flag from in front of the statehouse by agreeing to formally debate the proposal, reports AP. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the capitol to support the move. (Still, the flag remains deeply embedded in American culture.)