The Senate on Tuesday narrowly knocked down a bill that would have protected certain monuments -- including those commemorating the Confederacy -- from removal or defacement.
Senate Bill 515 -- sponsored by Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Little Rock, and Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle -- would have funneled waivers for changes to public monuments through the Arkansas History Commission for approval and would have set criminal penalties for violations of the proposed law.
The bill failed 16-9, with 10 not voting. It required 18 votes for approval in the 35-member Senate. All the affirmative votes came from Republican lawmakers. Two Republicans -- Sen. Mathew Pitsch of Fort Smith and Sen. Ricky Hill of Cabot -- voted against the measure.
The vote was expunged, so Johnson could potentially bring it back for future consideration.
SB515 defines monuments as a "statue, memorial, gravestone plate, nameplate, plaque, historic flag display, school, street, bridge, building, preserve or reserve" that is located on public property and has been named after a historical person, event, military organization or military unit.
The bill lists a range of military operations, from the French and Indian War to conflicts in the Mideast in the past few decades. The list includes the Civil War.
[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of the Arkansas Legislature]
Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, challenged Johnson as to which monuments in particular he was trying to protect with the proposed legislation.
Johnson said he was trying to "stop certain political whims of the moment from destroying heritage."
Chesterfield referred to the recent movement across the nation to take down Civil War monuments.
"The monuments of controversy have been those that have related to those individuals who fought in the South for the maintenance of the slave system," Chesterfield said. "And that's basically what this movement has been about nationwide. Am I correct?"
Johnson said he proposed the bill at the request of the Arkansas chapter of the United States Daughters of 1812, a nonprofit women's organization open to direct descendants of people who served the U.S. government in civil, military or naval posts between 1784 and 1815.
"Certainly, senator, you and I are going to find some items like this that we might from time to time disagree on, but this is much broader than what you are speaking of," Johnson said.
SB515 would have made violation of the law a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500, if the value of the property was more than $500 or if the damage or repair cost was more than $100. The perpetrator would be guilty of a Class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, if the property was valued at more than $1,000, the repair cost was more than $1,000 and if the person had been previously convicted of a Class A misdemeanor under the law.
A Section on 04/03/2019