The law defined schools, buildings and streets as “memorial” if they are “erected for, or named or dedicated in honor of, an event, a person, a group, a moment, or military service.” The City of Charlotttesville filed a motion in July that said a state law protecting memorials to war veterans became applicable in 1997 and doesn't apply to the Lee statue, which was erected in 1924. In 2004, Mississippi passed a law that prohibits the removal or alteration of statues or memorials honoring the military, including those dealing with the Civil War… Action for damage to memorials for war veterans. The desire of the Congress to protect Federal property is clearly reflected in … But another one is in federal court, and several scholars believe the monuments’ existence touches on broader constitutional issues. It’s also true that federal law (formerly Public Law 810) makes Confederate soldiers eligible for burial in national cemeteries and for taxpayer-funded headstones, just like Union soldiers: The Secretary shall furnish, when requested, an appropriate memorial headstone or marker for the purpose of commemorating an eligible individual whose remains are unavailable. Question: Does federal law protect Civil War monuments? The White House, Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence U.S. Public Law … A judge in Virginia has ruled that statues in Charlottesville of Confederate generals are covered under a law that prevents cities from removing war monuments without the state's approval. U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Phillip Morse and Deputy Chief Daniel Nichols told police officers to allow the protestors to continue their vandalism and not to arrest anyone. The Georgia House voted Thursday to increase the penalties against those who damage the state's public and private monuments — and make it more difficult to remove or relocate Confederate markers. Protests over George Floyd’s death spark renewed calls to take down monuments to Confederate soldiers. (a) It is the policy of the United States to prosecute to the fullest extent permitted under Federal law, and as appropriate, any person or any entity that destroys, damages, vandalizes, or desecrates a monument, memorial, or statue within the United States or otherwise vandalizes government property. Several States Have Erected Laws To Protect Confederate Monuments. Judge Richard Moore made his decision in a … (e) It is the policy of the United States, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to withhold Federal support from State and local law enforcement agencies that have failed to protect public monuments, memorials, and statues from destruction or vandalism. For years, when Republicans controlled the general assembly, they blocked efforts to change the law protecting war memorials. Additionally, under U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by the 17th Congress on 26 Feb 1929 the War Department was directed to erect headstones and recognize Confederate grave sites as U.S. War … If any monument or memorial for war veterans as designated in § 15.2-1812 is damaged or defaced, an action for the recovery of damages may be commenced as follows: 1. Chapel Hill became the latest front in a battle over Confederate monuments Tuesday night, as hundreds gathered to protest the statue of ‘Silent Sam’ on the campus of the University of North Carolina. work with State and local law enforcement authorities and Federal agencies to ensure the Federal Government appropriately provides information and assistance to State and local law enforcement authorities in connection with their investigations or prosecutions for the desecration of monuments, memorials, and statues, regardless of whether such structures are situated on Federal property. While the president says he authorized the federal government to prosecute those who deface and destroy statues on federal land, the government already had that power thanks to a 2003 law. One claim that's been circulating among Confederate apologists in recent weeks would have us believe that Congress passed a law in 1958 giving Confederate veterans status under law equal to U.S. veterans. State and local law enforcement agencies that fail to protect monuments, memorials, and statues will be subject to the withholding of Federal support. Alabama's law, the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, was passed in May 2017, North Carolina's ... and for leaving it alone. PL 810, 17th Congress February 26, 1929 (45 Stat 1307 – 38 U.S. Code, Sec. Civil War Monuments. But a 2015 NC law … A. The statue of a Confederate soldier, erected in 1913 as a tribute to UNC students who fought for the South during the Civil War, has drawn controversy for decades. A North Carolina law may complicate the effort. Threats to Confederate war memorials cannot be viewed in isolation. The examination raises significant questions about the permanency of preservation laws generally. The lawsuit argues a state law protecting war memorials violates Norfolk's rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments because the city-owned downtown statue delivers a … “This bill is about inclusion, diversity, and tolerance,” Powell said. Clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend sparked a national conversation on the value of preserving or removing statues and monuments honoring the Confederate side of the Civil War. § 15.2-1812.1. The war over Confederate monuments is also being waged on social media — and some of what's being shared there evokes the old saying that in war the first casualty is truth. “This isn’t about Confederate monuments; it’s about all monuments.” Powell excoriated the destruction of Ge By Kaeli Subberwal. What happens to Con- federate monuments has implications for all other American war memorials and the veterans they honor. (e) It is the policy of the United States, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to withhold Federal support from State and local law enforcement agencies that have failed to protect public monuments, memorials, and statues from destruction or vandalism. Subject: Protect our U.S. Capitol and Memorials against vandals! A Virginia judge has ruled that Charlottesville's Confederate statues are war memorials protected by state law and cannot be removed. This Article provides an in-depth understanding of the application of historic preservation laws to monument removal efforts and examines the impact of these federal, state, and local laws. commemorative objects, the legal framework regarding their protection has not been fully explored. The Hill newspaper reports that during the weekend of January 26th about 300 protestors spray-painted federal property on the U.S. Capitol grounds. While arguing in favor of the bill, Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) noted that monuments to World War I had also been damaged in the Peach State. As it is privately owned (by the UDC), the statute protecting public Civil War monuments does not apply, said the County. port Virginia’s law. At least four lawsuits about the monuments involve alleged conflicts with state and local laws about the protection of war memorials and property rights. writes Dailey, in a piece for HuffPost, referencing the just-ended World War II. A maze of statutes has been designed to protect those statues. The order calls on the attorney general to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any person or group that destroys or vandalizes a monument, memorial or statue. Many national leaders, such as Sen. Cory Booker (D … North Carolina has more than 200 Civil War memorials, statues and markers, according to Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina, a project of the … Memorials protected by state law and can not be removed writes Dailey, a... 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