Georgia Senate Approves MLK Statue
Placing a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Georgia Capitol grounds is one step closer to reality. That’s after the Georgia Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday allowing for the statue to be put somewhere on the grounds or in another prominent place.
Senators approved a statue for the late civil rights icon with a vote of 49 to 1. Under the bill, the statue would be funded with private money and would go up as soon as is practical. Democratic State Senator Gail Davenport sponsored the bill in the Senate.
“I think it says something for Georgia ,and it shows Georgia in a positive light, that we’re honoring the life and legacy of one our noted sons, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., someone who was reared here in Georgia, lived a few miles from the Capitol, and then a person who received more 600 awards and honorary degrees, and really a true drum major for justice.”
Republican Senator John Albers supported legislation shortly after the Senate approved a bill for a monument of the ten commandments and other documents.
“I just want to assure all of our fellow senators that we worked closely with our legislative counsel to assure that in no way would we have any issues with the likeness or other intellectual property of Dr. King on the statue, so private funds as well the state of Georgia would not have any additional costs to them. I think that’s important. I do think it would be very appropriate to have the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King next to the Ten Commandments and other important monuments.”
Republican Senator Bill Heath was the lone senator to vote against the bill. In a statement he said, he voted against the bill because he “was not convinced by the language of the bill that the erection of the statue will never cost the taxpayers. Though the bill specifically states private funds must be used in order to erect the statue, it does not expressly exclude from the use of public funds for Intellectual Property rights. Heath went on to say he was “not convinced that granting the state an intellectual property license as required in the bill solve the costs concerns.
He said, “According to an April 18, 2009, article attributed to the Associated Press, a fund raising foundation paid almost $800,000 to Intellectual Properties Management Inc, a family run entity, for the placement of monument on the National Mall. In that article, the fee was called a “licensing fee.” I hope the taxpayers of Georgia haven’t been duped by a bill that has sailed through the General Assembly in less than two weeks.
“I have not received one request from my district to support such a measure; on the other hand, I have had requests not to support it.”
The Senate version includes language which requires the state to be granted an intellectual property license for the statue. Last week, in a letter to Governor Nathan Deal’s chief of Staff, the King estate said it should have input on plans to honor Dr. King. Governor Deal has expressed his general support for a monument to honor King on the Capitol grounds. The bill now returns to the House.
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