GOP Leaders Stand By Law Protecting Confederate Monuments

North Carolina House Democrats have filed a bill that would repeal a law restricting the removal of Confederate monuments on public property. But the bill is unlikely to gain Republican support.

House Bill 10 is co-sponsored by Democratic Representatives Pricey Harrison of Greensboro and Evelyn Terry of Winston-Salem.

It would repeal a 2015 law that bans state agencies and local governments from removing any “object of remembrance” on public property that “commemorates an event, a person, or military service that is part of North Carolina's history.”  Currently, legislation would have to be passed to remove or relocate Confederate monuments.

House Speaker Tim Moore tells The News and Observer he sees no need to change the law. Moore says it's up to the courts to resolve any challenges.

Officials at the University of North Carolina say the law limits their options in deciding the future of Silent Sam, the statue torn down by protesters on the Chapel Hill campus.

The UNC Board of Governors is currently developing a plan for the statue. Senate Leader Phil Berger says the legislature won't intervene in that decision.