Is Attorney General bowing to political correctness by not defending the S.C. Heritage Act? Photo courtesy of Live5News Charleston.
South Carolina state legislators have banded together to demand state Attorney General Alan Wilson “as Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the State” to take action to have the Robert E. Lee Memorial monument in Charleston reinstalled after officials of the city had it removed. The Legislators believe the monument was removed unlawfully in violation of the SC Heritage Act. Thirty six members of the SC State General Assembly signed the letter to Attorney General Wilson asking the AG to fulfill his duty and take action to restore the Robert E. Lee Memorial to its rightful place .
The Robert E. Lee Memorial in Charleston was located at the School of Math and Science prior to Charleston City Council having it removed.
Legislators asks the Attorney General Wilson to get a Writ of Mandamus from the S.C. Supreme Court to require the Charleston City officials to return the Robert E. Lee Memorial. The memorial was located at the Charleston School of Math and Science.
According to the correspondence with the Attorney General, the Lee Memorial was removed by city officials in the summer of 2021. The City Council has admitted they had the memorial removed. To date the City Council has refused to reinstall the monument as requested in the January 14, 2022, letter from state legislators.
The Legislators state that this removal was in “flagrant violation of the [South Carolina] Heritage Act” as a soldiers memorial of the “War Between the States”. All War monuments, markers, memorials, statues, cenotaphs, plaques, etc., are provided specific protection under the Heritage Act passed in 2000 and reaffirmed in 2021 by the state Supreme Court.
The Legislators stated that “without a doubt” the Lee memorial is “specifically protect[ed] by the Act”. The Legislative missive also states that “Cancel culture has no place in the Palmetto State.”
United Daughters of the Confederacy “decorate” veteran graves annually.
The “Cancel culture” remark is specifically regarding the radical Marxist movement across South Carolina and the United States to remove all monuments, markers, statues, etc that do not adhere to cultural Marxism, commonly called political correctness.
As part of their petition letter, the Legislators also state that the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Charleston Chapter #4, placed the Lee marker at the Old Rivers High School Building on King Street, which was part of the Old Lee Memorial Highway. Memorial highways have also come under fire by Marxist groups seeking to remove names of Southern soldiers.
In their letter, the Legislators state plainly that, “Cancel culture has no place in the Palmetto State. The legislature has spoken on the monument issue by passing the Heritage Act and the South Carolina Supreme Court has unanimously affirmed its constitutionality. It is now time for the rule of law to be enforced.”
Lisa Carol Rudisill, M.T.S., is a magna cum laud graduate of NC State University and Liberty University where she earned a Master of Theology. She writes novels about her family history during the Civil War in North and South Carolina. She is a freelance writer, editorialist and a contributor to The Standard newspaper.
Please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page. Become a Patron!
RSS - Posts