The Louisiana House of Representatives Passed a Bill 65-31 to Protect Civil War Monuments!!!

(WWL.com) -- Today the Louisiana House of Representatives passed a controversial bill aimed at protecting Louisiana’s confederate monuments. The 65-31 vote moves the bill on the Louisiana Senate

Debates quickly became heated when the bill was in committee, where the measure narrowly passed on a 10-8 vote.

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Rob Maness spoke in support of the measure, saying these monuments are not about some long-lived racial issue, though they may have been in the past.

“These veterans’ monuments and battlefield markers honor the sacrifices of all US veterans and their families in that war as they should be honored,” Maness said.

The bill, by Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody, would prohibit the removal of any military monument from any war without approval from a majority of voters. Franklinton Senator Beth Mizell also supports the proposal. She says this bill is a response to the Confederate monuments being removed in New Orleans, but these veterans’ blood was shed for the country as a whole, and that is timeless.

“We’ve marginalized their sacrifice into the will of a small municipality. Their sacrifice was for a much larger cause,” Mizell said.

But Baton Rouge Representative Denise Marcelle says this bill has nothing to do with protecting veterans. She says the local government in New Orleans has voted to take down these statues, and this bill is about usurping the authority of the local municipalities.

“I think that this is a way to go around the local authorities to get what you want when you don’t get what you want from the local authorities. That is a slippery slope that we slide,” Marcelle said.

A monument supporter told black lawmakers it’s time to grow up and get over it. Marcelle says that’s an insult to the African American community.

“So if we’re going to say let’s get over it, let’s get over slavery, then somebody could say let’s get over the fact that you want these monuments up,” Marcelle said.