Louisiana might move Confederate monuments that have been taken down by local governments to state parks.
State lawmakers are considering a proposed law that would transfer any “historical statue or monument” owned by a government and removed from a public display on or after Aug. 1, 2006 to the Office of State Parks. The Office of State Parks, run by the lieutenant governor, would be required to relocate the monument to a place that could be accessed by the public, according to House BIll 1215. Its new location could not be in the same parish where the monument originally stood. Under the bill, the state park system would also be required to provide signs for each monument at its new location that present “accurate historical context.” This would include the circumstances under which the monument was both erected and removed. The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, passed the Louisiana House of Representatives on a 78-14 vote last week. The Louisiana Senate must also approve the proposal for it to become law.
The bill addresses monuments and statute removal more generally and doesn’t reference Confederate monuments in particular. But Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, a Republican, said in an interview it was designed to deal with Confederate monuments taken down in New Orleans in 2017…