LEE COUNTY, Fla. — If some Florida lawmakers get their way, it could soon be illegal for Lee County to remove a portrait of Robert E. Lee hanging inside the Lee County Commission Chambers.
House Bill 395 even aims to punish cities that take down Confederate monuments.
The bill goes even further and orders any city that has already taken down a monument to order it put back up.
While the 10-page bill never mentions the word confederate monuments or memorials, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dean Black, admits it does include them.
“This bill is about protecting everyone’s history. Insofar as confederated monuments are a part of our history, well sure, they are included,” Black said.
In fact, his bill could even bring back controversial monuments like the Robert E. Lee Memorial that once stood in the heart of downtown Fort Myers.
The monument sparked outrage on both sides for years before a city council vote finally removed it in January 2022.
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Lisa Maki of Fort Myers feels the Lee Monument should be brought back to make sure everyone understands it.
She may get her wish as the bill says any monument removed since 2017 could be ordered to be returned.
“If they don’t do that, then the state has the right to come in and put it up themselves on a state property,” explained Republican Rep. Dean Black, who introduced the bill.
The bill even gives the governor the power to remove any local official from office if they vote to remove the “historical” monuments.
“It is intimidating. It’s a reminder to us that they will always have their feet on our necks,” said Jacquelyn McMiller.
She grew up in Fort Myers and even ran to become the city’s mayor. She feels the Lee monument must return. It may be better suited near the black history museum.
“Put them in a place where you want to go learn and visit about them and tell the good, the bad, and the ugly,” McMiller said.
The Lee monument went up in 1966, nearly 100 years after Lee’s death and during the height of the civil rights movement.
Democrats are already opposing the bill.
“We shouldn’t be wasting time to preserve confederate statues, and we should be focused on so many things like property insurance,” said Democrat Anna Eskamani.
Lee County’s State Senator Jonathan Martin, who sponsored a similar bill in the past, declined to discuss HB 395 on the record.
Read the bill for yourself below:
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