A Florida Senate panel on Thursday approved a proposal to remove the Confederate battle flag from the upper chamber's official seal.

The 43-year-old seal features the five flags that have flown over Florida.

They include those of Spain, France, Great Britain, the United States and the Confederacy. The Senate Rules Committee unanimously approved a motion by Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) to strike the Confederate flag from the seal. The proposal must receive a two-thirds vote by the full Senate to be implemented.

"In light of the blood that was shed in South Carolina and the fact that the flag is emblematic of a painful period in our history, I felt it necessary to request that it be removed," Joyner said after Thursday's vote.

Amid the growing backlash against the Confederate flag, however, its defenders are standing strong. Bob Hurst, a member of the Tallahassee chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, says the drive to remove the flag from the Senate seal is an act of political correctness at the expense of history.

"I have no respect at all for anyone who attempts to change history," Hurst said. "I've read history my whole life and it's important that we have history. It's important to have accurate history, and I thoroughly despise anyone who attempts to delete history, and that's what they're trying to do with the Confederate flag."