Rolling rally for Confederate flag

Hundreds of Confederate flags made their way from Brandon to Tampa just before sunset Friday night, driven by supporters who say that those who may be offended, have it wrong.

"There is no reason it should hurt your feelings. It is part of our history," said Alex Abbott of Apollo Beach.

"I am not here support anything other than love, peace, harmony," said one participant, who did not want to provide her name. "I am here to support the South."

"We are not racists," insisted another.

The organizer of the so-called "Ride for Pride," William Pew, says he got the idea from a similar ride in Georgia and the idea took off locally on social media.

"We have learned from what happened, and now we want to move forward and put a positive spin on this and let people know this flag is not about race anymore."

We asked how they rectified the use of Confederate symbols by alleged Charleston shooter Dylan Roof.

"That's an isolated incident," said Pew. "We will probably have close to 2,000 people. If you interviewed every one of them, they would say, absolutely, we are horrified by that."

Many here said they took offense to the politicians, church leaders and civil rights groups who say the flag is insulting.

"Now you are banning heritage," said Zachery Campbell. "What's next, you're going to ban freedom after this?"

At Friday's funeral for the nine Americans killed in a Charleston church, the president explained why he believes the flag should be a piece of history, not our present.

"It would not be an insult to the valor of Confederate soldiers," President Obama said. "It would simply be an acknowledgement that the cause for which they fought, the cause of slavery, was wrong."

Organizers say another similar rally is planned for Zephyrhills this weekend.