In a vote of 285 to 120, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have approved a measure to remove all statues honoring Confederate leaders from public display within the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. All “no” votes on the issue came from Republicans.
Barbara Sprunt of NPR has reported that “the legislation, H.R. 3005, would direct the architect of the Capitol to identify and remove all statues and busts that depict members of the Confederacy from public display within 45 days of the resolution’s enactment. Any removed statue that was provided to the Capitol by a state would be returned to the state, which could then elect to replace it with another honoree.”
According to Sprunt, the House measure also “specifically mentions the removal of statues of Charles Brantley Aycock, John Caldwell Calhoun and James Paul Clarke — three men who defended slavery and segregation.”
