Rudy Williams, Local Memphis, February 2, 2018

A surprising new twist in the Confederate statue controversy. If some state lawmakers get their way, a new bill just introduced would force Memphis to put the statues back.

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Lawmakers are calling it the Tennessee Historic Properties Act. They’ve just introduced a new bill in both the House and Senate.

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The state says properties with historical ties, like the parks which housed statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis, fall within the scope of the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, so it maintains control.

State Representative Antonio Parkinson says it is highly unusual to make a law retroactive and believes it is not constitutional.

Lee Millar with Sons of Confederate Veterans says he’s not worried because it supplements a law already in effect. “The legislation is an excellent idea to combat rogue governments like Memphis.”