ATLANTA — A Georgia state lawmaker has proposed legislation he says provides protection for all monuments.
Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, sponsored Senate Bill 77, which would prohibit individuals and agencies from removing or concealing monuments. I would allow for measures that would protect and preserve the monuments.
“Last year my district, as well as several others around the state, had issues with gravestone desecration,” Mullis said in a statement. “While current law provides protection to military monuments and memorials, Senate Bill 77 would extend this protection to all monuments. The issue is not a matter of the events people want to remember, rather, the events people must remember.
“All monuments are created for a purpose to remind us of certain events and lives that have played a part in creating the great state we live in today,” Mullis added. “In addition, the reason why this issue was brought to the Georgia Senate is that we don’t have enough protection for the lives of people who can no longer stand up to honor and defend themselves. I was able to work with Senators who stood in opposition to this bill and support two amendments on the Senate floor that may help ease tension from those opposed to the underlying debate.”
The two events in which it would be appropriate for the relocation of a monument include construction in an area where a monument is currently located or the expansion or alteration of the monument. The bill also specifies when a monument must be relocated, and where the monument can and cannot be relocated.
