Proposal in Alabama to up protection for Confederate statues
Published: Apr. 14, 2021 at 9:28 PM CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A proposal to fine cities $10,000 a day for taking down Confederate and other longstanding monuments drew heated debate in a Alabama legislative committee.
The House Government Committee on Wednesday held a public hearing on the bill by Rep. Mike Holmes that would dramatically increase fines for violating the Memorial Preservation Act.
Current law levies a flat $25,000 fine, which some cities have paid as a cost of removing controversial monuments to other locations.
Holmes claims that the Civil War was not about slavery, a notion that is contrary to the widely accepted view that it was the root cause of the conflict.
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