Post by Logan on Mar 12, 2016 0:34:00 GMT -6
McAuliffe vetoes bill to prevent removal of Confederate memorials
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed legislation that would prevent Virginia localities from taking down monuments to the Confederacy and other war-related memorials, saying it would prohibit communities from making their own decisions about controversial symbols.
In a veto announced Thursday, McAuliffe said he supports historic preservation, but called the legislation a “sweeping override of local authority” that has ramifications for “interpretive signage to tell the story of some of our darkest moments during the Civil War.”
“There is a legitimate discussion going on in localities across the commonwealth regarding whether to retain, remove, or alter certain symbols of the Confederacy,” McAuliffe said in his veto message. “These discussions are often difficult and complicated. They are unique to each community’s specific history and the specific monument or memorial being discussed. This bill effectively ends these important conversations.”
House Bill 587 would have clarified a law passed in 1998 that prevented local governments from disturbing or interfering with war-related monuments. The bill introduced this year by Del. Charles D. Poindexter, R-Franklin County, would clarify that monuments built before 1998 were also protected under the law.
Read more: www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article_f382caa3-c08e-5940-9c4f-06a908e7b631.html
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed legislation that would prevent Virginia localities from taking down monuments to the Confederacy and other war-related memorials, saying it would prohibit communities from making their own decisions about controversial symbols.
In a veto announced Thursday, McAuliffe said he supports historic preservation, but called the legislation a “sweeping override of local authority” that has ramifications for “interpretive signage to tell the story of some of our darkest moments during the Civil War.”
“There is a legitimate discussion going on in localities across the commonwealth regarding whether to retain, remove, or alter certain symbols of the Confederacy,” McAuliffe said in his veto message. “These discussions are often difficult and complicated. They are unique to each community’s specific history and the specific monument or memorial being discussed. This bill effectively ends these important conversations.”
House Bill 587 would have clarified a law passed in 1998 that prevented local governments from disturbing or interfering with war-related monuments. The bill introduced this year by Del. Charles D. Poindexter, R-Franklin County, would clarify that monuments built before 1998 were also protected under the law.
Read more: www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article_f382caa3-c08e-5940-9c4f-06a908e7b631.html