HR559.html

Expressing the intent and desire of the House of Representatives to protect and preserve all publicly owned monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials which are dedicated to, honor, or recount the military service of any past or present military personnel of this state, the United States of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America or the several states thereof; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the State of Georgia and its political subdivisions, departments, agencies, and authorities have through the years erected and established many monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials which are dedicated to, honor, and recount the military service of past and present military personnel of this state, the United States of America and the several states thereof, and the Confederate States of America and the several states thereof; and

WHEREAS, these monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials are fitting and proper memorials to these individuals who served their country and state with devotion and dignity that should be protected and preserved; and

WHEREAS, of special significance among these many monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials is the memorial to the heroes of the Confederate States of America that is graven upon the face of Stone Mountain; and

WHEREAS, in passing Act No. 1 (House Bill No. 16) in the 2001 session of the Georgia General Assembly, the General Assembly provided that it would be "unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or other entity to mutilate, deface, defile, or abuse contemptuously any publicly owned monument, plaque, marker, or memorial which is dedicated to, honors, or recounts the military service of any past or present military personnel of this state, the United States of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America or the several states thereof, and no officer, body, or representative of state or local government or any department, agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof shall remove or conceal from display any such monument, plaque, marker, or memorial for the purpose of preventing the visible display of the same" and that no "publicly owned monument or memorial erected, constructed, created, or maintained on the public property of this state or its agencies, departments, authorities, or instrumentalities in honor of the military service of any past or present military personnel of this state, the United States of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America or the several states thereof shall be relocated, removed, concealed, obscured or altered in any fashion; provided, however, that appropriate measures for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of such monuments or memorials shall not be prohibited"; and

WHEREAS, Act No. 1 further provided that "the memorial to the heroes of the Confederate States of America graven upon the face of Stone Mountain shall never be altered, removed, concealed, or obscured in any fashion and shall be preserved and protected for all time as a tribute to the bravery and heroism of the citizens of this state who suffered and died in their cause"; and

WHEREAS, many persons have continued to express concerns that there may still be present or future efforts made to remove, conceal, alter, or obscure these monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that it is the intent and desire of this body that all publicly owned monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials which are dedicated to, honor, or recount the military service of any past or present military personnel of this state, the United States of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America or the several states thereof, including specifically the memorial to the heroes of the Confederate States of America that is graven upon the face of Stone Mountain, be protected and preserved for all time as a tribute to the bravery and heroism of the citizens of this state who suffered and died in their cause and that no action shall be taken by any governmental body or other person or entity to alter, remove, conceal, or obscure such monuments, plaques, markers, statues, and memorials in any fashion.