Florida Senate advances proposal to protect Confederate monuments
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Florida’s state Senate is considering a bill that would let people sue local governments and other parties over the removal of memorials or historical monuments, in the wake of efforts in the state to take down monuments to the Confederacy.
The bill would provide that any person or entity that “damages, defaces, destroys, or removes a monument or memorial” could be liable and made to pay for the impact on the historical marker.
The bill would also prohibit the placement of “a plaque, sign, picture, notice, or any other object used to convey information” near any monument or memorial that existed before 2022, according to the bill text.
The Republican-majority Community Affairs Committee within the state Senate approved the “Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act” 6-2 on Wednesday, advancing it further toward a floor vote in the chamber.
“What I like about these memorials in public places is that everybody has the opportunity to see who we were,” state Sen. Jonathan Martin (R), the bill’s sponsor, told the Orlando Sentinel.
The bill comes after efforts in Florida and elsewhere to take down Confederate symbols. According to a 2022 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, 77 Confederate memorials still stand in the state.
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