A handful of north Alabama organizations have started a petition seeking to remove a Confederate monument at the Madison County Courthouse in downtown Huntsville.

The courthouse is "supposed to be a place of justice for all" and not a place to honor "the heroes who fell in defense of the principles which gave birth to the Confederate cause," the website statement for the petition states.

"The Confederate cause was to take up arms against the United States government in defense of slavery," the website said.

Sponsoring organizations of the petition are Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance, North Alabama Peace Network, Know Huntsville, Huntsville Progressive Letter Writers, Huntsville African-American History Project, Indivisible Athens Alabama, SURJ Huntsville, Alabama Solutions and Green Party of Madison.

The petition is directed to Huntsville and Madison County government leaders.

The petition website suggests relocating the monument to a museum or Maple Hill Cemetery near downtown Huntsville or anywhere away from the courthouse.

"Understanding Civil War history is important, but this monument does not represent true history," the website said. "It represents the glorified myths of the "Lost Cause" that dominated twentieth century thought in Alabama, ideas that have been debunked by serious scholars."

The monument was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1905.

The petition, which was posted online last week, has about 210 signatures as of midday Tuesday. It has a goal of garnering 400 signatures.

Confederate monuments have recently been removed in New Orleans.

The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill earlier this year that would prohibit the removal or relocation of Confederate monuments.