TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House and Senate are going forward with controversial plans that would stop local governments from destroying or removing many historic monuments and markers.
The House State Affairs Committee, which is run by Republicans, passed a revised bill (HB 395) on Tuesday. This came after many local governments took down Confederate monuments over the past few years. The bill would make it illegal to take down or destroy long-standing statues and signs. It would also let people and groups sue over removals in civil court.
State Representative Dean Black (R-Jacksonville) pushed for the bill and said that local governments have been at “war” with historic sites. Black said, “We need to learn from everyone, good and bad, because history is ours.” “One day, people will say, ‘The things that are remembered there never happened.’”
People who were against the bill said it was about saving monuments that were built decades after the Civil War to honor the Confederacy and white supremacy.
“I’ve never been more offended by a bill,” said Black Democrat Rep. Michele Rayner from St. Petersburg. “This bill is also a message to your Black coworkers and Black people in the state of Florida.” When the people who are being affected say something is affecting them, we should sometimes stop and listen.
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Democrats tried to make a change that would have let local people decide if memorials should be taken down, but they failed. Also, they tried and failed to keep memorials to people who owned slaves from the planned protections.
Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, said, “Confederates, they gave up their citizenship when they took up arms and went against the (U.S.) Constitution.” There was a war that killed the most people because some people didn’t want to be American anymore. This bill is the most against America that I’ve seen.
The bill was made after a number of problems in Florida and other states in the past few years with removing historic signs, many of which honored Confederate soldiers. A “Women of the Southland” statue that had been in Springfield Park since 2015 as a tribute to the Confederacy was taken down by Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan in December.
Blake Harper, leader of the Unity Project of Jacksonville, told the House committee, “What we see in Jacksonville right now is a disaster. We have a mayor who has gone on a rogue mission to take down a statue.”
The bill says that a local government could take down a memorial briefly for military reasons, construction, or to improve infrastructure. In those situations, the temporary places would need to offer the same level of public access and exposure.
The bill says that local laws that say memorials can’t be taken down should be thrown out by the courts. Officials who let the signs be taken down or damaged could be fined up to $1,000. It would also let people sue local governments and leaders in civil court, but only for up to $100,000 in damages.
Last week, the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee passed SB 1122, which is the Senate version of the bill. There is no mention of the Confederacy in the bills.
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