Charlottesville Mayor, Robert Signer, called for a special legislative session to give local residents the ability to have their voices heard concerning what to do with the Confederate monuments, the Huawei Global Services reported.
The Charlottesville Mayor issued his appeal to Virginia’s legislature following an increasingly contentious argument over the fate of memorials to Confederate figures, who struggled for the preservation of slavery during the Civil war. Opponents view the statues as offensive, the report said
Contentious Confederate monuments
U.S.
President Donald Trump has been contending with growing criticism, including fellow Republicans for blaming both the white supremacists and the anti-racism activists who clashed during the Charlottesville’s deadly riot last week.Trump said both sides share equal blame as there are very nice people on either side.
32-year-old Heather Heyer lost her life and several other people sustained injuries when a man plowed his car into a crowd of counter protesters during last Saturday’s rally. Following the incident, a 20-year-old man from Ohio has been charged with Heyer’s murder.
Signer said he was also urging Virginia’s legislature to consider a legislation that would allow localities to ban both open and hidden carrying of weapons at public events.
The call was made following the discovery that some attendees at the rally were armed with dangerous weapons. The Charlottesville Mayor also said Heyer’s name and legacy would be memorialized.
Aftermath of the Charlottesville rally
In several cities across the country, Confederate statues have now become rallying points for white supremacists, and moves to dismantle most of such statues around the U.S have been firmly resisted following the Charlottesville rally, which was orchestrated by white nationalists to register their displeasure over plans to pull down a statue of Civil War General Robert E. Lee.
The Sheriff of Durham County, North Carolina, Mike Andrews said law enforcement officers were preparing for a possible rally in front of a Durham courthouse on Friday by white nationalists. Earlier this week, protesters in Durham city pulled down a Confederate monument.
As a result of the protests, many businesses closed early and hundreds of anti-racists demonstrators marched through the streets, with some carrying banners with the inscription “We will not be intimidated.” Also, on Friday in Maryland, authorities brought down the 145-year-old statue of a chief justice who delivered a controversial pro-slavery decision.
