TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (WSVN) - A new bill making its way through the Florida Senate would make it illegal to remove confederate statues.

House Bill 97, filed by Republican State Rep. Mike Hill for the upcoming 2019 legislative season, has been dubbed the Soldiers’ and Heroes’ Monuments and Memorials Protection Act.

If passed, it would make it a felony to remove, alter, rename, rededicate or overall disturb a memorial for a veteran, soldier or public servant, save for repairs or for relocation to an equally-prominent location.

The bill would also protect Confederate statues, which, according to Fox 35, spurred Hill to file the bill.

“Those monuments have been there for decades, some over a hundred years and were not causing a grievance at the time but is all the sudden,” said Hill.

However, Hill said the bill is about more than Confederate statues. He also wants to support veterans and those honored through the state’s memorials.

“If there is anyone that’s not willing to support that, then I would challenge their patriotism,” Hill told Fox 35.

The bill would also protect street signs, schools, parks and other things named as military memorials.

To read the full bill, click here.

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