Kentucky city endorses moving 2 Confederate statues

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Government leaders in Kentucky’s second-largest city have taken a decisive stand in favor of moving two Confederate statues from prominent places outside a former courthouse.

The proposal to relocate statues honoring Confederate officers John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge won unanimous approval from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council on Thursday night.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray says the action shows the city is “taking responsibility to do the right thing.” The proposal calls on the mayor to return in 30 days with a possible new location for the monuments.

The council’s action isn’t the final word on the issue. The city still has to ask a state military heritage commission for permission.

The vote in Lexington comes as cities and states have accelerated their plans to remove Confederate monuments from public property in the aftermath of deadly violence between white nationalists and counterprotesters over a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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