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Removing a Confederate monument? This bill would require Idaho Legislature’s approval

A “We Repent” banner was placed over an image of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee depicted in a stain glass panel at the Cathedral of the Rockies. Rev. Duane Anders explains how the panel was created, why it was covered and will later be removed. | BY DARIN OSWALD
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Hoping to remove a Confederate monument? If a newly proposed bill passes, the Republican-dominated Idaho Legislature could have the final say.
Rep. Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden, on Friday introduced a measure in committee that would require approval from lawmakers via a resolution for anyone who wants to remove a monument or rename something that mentions a figure or event from history.
Okuniewicz said House Bill 65 is intended to protect monuments and prevent local jurisdictions from making what he termed “rash” decisions.
“Erasing history doesn’t seem to be the right thing,” Okuniewicz said. “We should learn about them, not hide them and forget about them.”
The bill would seize local control from any individual, entity or jurisdiction — such as a school district or city — that wanted to remove a controversial monument or marker or rename something that was dedicated to a historical figure. Okuniewicz pointed out of state to make his case, citing an example in San Francisco, where a school district voted to rename 42 schools that were dedicated and named after people some said were associated with slavery or colonization — Abraham Lincoln and George Washington among them.
The legislation would not prohibit anyone from erecting new monuments or statues.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, said he was grateful Okuniewicz brought the bill forward.
“As a historian myself, I’ve seen the damage done by anarchists and revisionists of history,” Skaug said. “If we take away our culture, and want to destroy our American culture, this is the way to do it — take away our history and monuments.”
Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, said the bill could be burdensome on municipalities if a city wants to simply move a monument or needs to rebuild a school. Okuniewicz, who used a South Carolina measure as a template for his bill, said he was trying to keep the legislation simple.
RELATED | A Boise church ‘repents’ and will remove stained-glass window of Confederate General Robert E. Lee
One of Boise’s largest churches, the Cathedral of the Rockies, removed a stained-glass window featuring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee last summer, part of a wave of such action across the country after protests erupted over the death of George Floyd and other African-Americans at the hands of police.
Many cities moved swiftly to take down Confederate monuments to avoid violence or public endangerment the past couple of years. In Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, violence erupted after white supremacists showed up to protest the city’s plan to remove a monument of Lee. Virginia repealed its law that preempted cities from removing Confederate monuments in 2020.
Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and the only Black Idaho House member, said during the committee meeting that he believes it’s a “good bill,” but pointed out that figures portrayed in some Idaho monuments might not even have local ties.
“I heard the term ‘erase our history’ multiple times,” Mathias said. He then used the example of Lee, whom Mathias called “a traitor to our country.”
“He never even came to our state, yet there are things named after him,” Mathias said. “What there is to erase has some bias towards certain classes of Americans.”
The post Removing a Confederate monument? This bill would require Idaho Legislature’s approval appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com

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