Almost three weeks after the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting on June 17, the national debate over Confederate symbols continued in the Palmetto State's Legislature, on the University of North Carolina (UNC) campus and at a Minnesota parade of volunteer firefighters.

Lawmakers in South Carolina were set to begin discussions on Monday on legislation that would remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the state house in Columbia, Reuters noted.

The banner had been moved from the Capitol's dome to a nearby memorial, but a number of elected officials, including Gov. Nikki Haley, have called for it to be taken down entirely. The pending legislation seems to be gaining traction and could be approved as early as Thursday, Reuters predicted.

Meanwhile, vandals at UNC's Chapel Hill campus defaced the school's monument to Confederate war soldiers over the Independence Day holiday, News & Observer reported.

The 1913 "Silent Sam" statue, which commemorates the university's 321 alumni who died in the Civil War, was vandalized with spray paint.

"We understand that the issue of race and place is both emotional and, for many, painful," said Rick White, UNC's associate vice chancellor of communications and public affairs. "We welcome all points of view, but damaging or defacing statues is not the way to go about it."

In rural Minnesota, a volunteer firefighter was suspended after he flew a Confederate flag from an engine during a parade on July 3, television affiliate KARE noted.

Brian Nielsen told the Twin Cities NBC affiliate he decided to use the banner because he was tired of politicians and businesses trying to remove the Confederate flag from history.

"I'm sick of the politically correctness, because they are trying to change too much in the United States," Nielsen said. "Me raising that flag had nothing to do with slavery. It had nothing to do with disrespect towards our vets. It was more of a statement against the PC."