Sen. Jon Martin files to protect historical monuments, memorials in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed a bill Thursday protecting statues and monuments from being removed by government entities.

“Senate Bill 1122 protects Florida’s historical monuments and memorials,” a statement from Martin’s office read. “SB 1122 protects our history from activists seeking to destroy and limit access to our storied past.

“The bill places limitations and requirements regarding the relocation of historical monuments and memorials by local governments,” Martin said. “The goal of this bill is to protect Florida’s unique history from local governments that are set on rewriting Florida’s history.”

Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, who filed the companion bill, HB 395, said the legislation would help protect “all history.”

Martin’s filing comes the same week Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan unilaterally removed a Confederate monument.

Both legislators defended their positions on the legislation during an interview on Florida’s Voice with Brendon Leslie, calling out media headlines by NBC 2, claiming the bills “protect Confederate monuments.”

“The headline is misleading because this is a bill that protects all history,” Black said. “It’s truthfully a history bill, and it protects our monuments and memorials wherever situated in Florida, and for whatever purpose.”

“It’s not mostly or predominantly about Confederate memorials, it’s about all of our historic memorials,” he said.

Black said what the bill intends to do is “cancel cancel culture.”

“They’ve been tearing down statues and important memorials around all sorts of subjects throughout the state, throughout the country,” he said. “But we intend to put an end to that here in Florida.”

Martin called NBC 2’s headline “disingenuous” and “dishonest.”

“It was not drafted to protect any particular type of American history, it is drafted to protect all American history,” Martin said.

Martin also filed an additional companion bill, HB 1120, to Rep. David Borrero’s, R-Sweetwater, legislation that would prohibit the display of LGBTQ flags on government buildings and school property, among other guidelines on flag neutrality and prominence of the American flag.

“Senate bill 1120 will ensure that our taxpayer dollars will not be used to support one ideology
over another and will unite Floridians on the symbols and principles that our veterans fought to
protect,” Martin said.