A group of Nova Scotians is calling for the province to ban the Confederate flag, and they’re preparing to take their demands to the government.

The flag has become a lightning rod for debate since a gunman opened fire in a church in Charleston, S.C., killing nine African-Americans.

While some have come to the flag’s defence, saying it’s a symbol of heritage and history, this group says it’s an affront to all Nova Scotians.

“The Confederate flag is unequivocally, without any scintilla of doubt, is a symbol of racism,” said Isaac Saney.

Saney is a historian and professor at Halifax’s Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s universities, as well as one of the organizers behind the effort to have the flag banned.

The group has been collecting hundreds of signatures in a petition they plan to present to the government, and they’re planning a press conference for Wednesday to publicize their cause.

The group says the Confederate flag’s presence in Nova Scotia has been increasing.

“Ten thousand Nova Scotians, overwhelmingly white, fought in the U.S. Civil War on the side of the North, and they fought because of a sentiment against slavery,” Saney said.

“I mean, this is an insult to their memory.”

The flag was created by the slavery-practising South during the U.S. Civil War, and in the 1950s was adopted by people opposed to the civil rights movement and desegregation.

“There may be people who don't know this history, who are uneducated about it, but I think it's important for them to understand that this is a symbol steeped in oppression, steeped in subjugation, steeped in hatred and it has no place in Nova Scotia,” Saney said.

Since last month’s shooting in Charleston, at least two Halifax-area flag shops have stopped selling the Confederate flag.

“We think of ourselves as the United Nations in the flag industry. If there's a dispute between two countries we will still sell those two country's flags,” said Carole Aylard, who manages one of these flag shops.

“This was a flag that had a history, but also an unhappy history.”

Aylard says taking the flag off their shelves received a mixed response.

“People were very, very happy, and people were very upset.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kayla Hounsell