According to a Tuesday Suffolk University/USA Today survey, 70 percent of respondents said they do not want the federal government imposing a ban on the sale or manufacture of the Confederate flag.

The issue took enter stage following the Charleston attack after a photo emerged of alleged gunman Dylann Roof posing with the Confederate flag. And the Suffolk University/USA Today survey was conducted June 25-29, right in the middle of the backlash against the Confederate flag.

According to Suffolk University, following Gov. Nikki Haley’s (R) calls for the Confederate flag to be removed from South Carolina’s Capitol grounds, 42 percent of Americans at large agreed — and 42 percent disagreed. When the questions was asked specifically to southerners, 49 percent of respondents said the flag “represents Southern history and heritage and is not racist.” Only “34 percent said it is racist and should be removed from official locations.”

Regarding federal action banning the sale or manufacture of the Confederate flag, 70 percent of respondents opposed it and 19 percent supported it.

The same survey found that only 38 percent of Americans believed the Charleston attack was a reflection of a larger problem of racism in America.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.