FLORIDA REPUBLICANS FALTER AGAIN ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Tallahassee – Florida Lawmakers closed up shop in March, failing again for the 8th year to take care of the unfinished business of protecting veteran and other historic memorials and monuments in the State.

This session, Rep. Dean Black (R – Jacksonville) and Senator Thomas Martin (R – Ft. Myers) introduced legislation with multiple provisions to protect and preserve Florida historic monuments and memorials.  One key provision would have allowed historic preservation organizations to bring lawsuits against local governments who propose removing historic monuments and memorials.

In the lead-up to the session, a national polling firm, Cygnal, said that 2 to 1, Floridans even wanted Confederate monuments protected.  But the same poll shows 10-1 Republicans want historic preservation.

The legislation was opposed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and anti-historic preservation groups around Florida, who spoke in opposition to the legislation at its committee stops during the process.  While Critical Race Theory has been much discussed in Tallahassee, criticism of history (“CHT”) was used during the committee meetings, turning the focus of the legislation away from historic preservation and into history-shaming sessions of Florida and American history.

Scott Powell, spokesman for Guardians of American History said “Florida failed again to do the right thing.  Each year the cultural Marxists take more ground and the Florida republicans have left our public art and history exposed to them by not being courageous enough to stop them”.

Guardians of American History is a Florida non-profit that seeks to work with elected officials to understand the threat of historic destruction to the citizens of the State, and to champion historic preservation.  More info and to sign the petition to to Governor Desantis and the Florida Legislature visit:  www.historyguardains.com