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The Sons of Confederate Veterans is readying for “battle” against Democrats who want to make changes to Stone Mountain.
The group sent out an urgent action alert to members Tuesday night about House Bill 760, a proposal sponsored by state Rep. LaDawn Jones, D-Atlanta, that would require the state agency overseeing Stone Mountain to maintain an "appropriate, inclusive and historically accurate" memorial to the Civil War.
It also appears the bill would remove restrictions on government agencies from making changes to memorials so long as they are “historically accurate and appropriate.”
State law says Stone Mountain, with its massive carvings of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, should 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.”
But following the June killing of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, S.C., efforts have emerged across the South to halt the display of Confederate symbols in public places.
In October, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association proposed installing a monument to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as a permanent exhibit about the African-American soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans has opposed that plan and has also participated in rallies at Stone Mountain in support of the Rebel flag.
Jones has admitted that her legislation has little chance of passing because her party is strongly outnumbered in both chambers of the General Assembly, but it riled up Georgia’s SCV chapter.
“If we lose this battle, what will be next?” Ray McBerry, a former leader of the group who in the past sought the Republican nomination for governor, wrote in the email alert.
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