Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall will appeal a ruling striking down Alabama's law protecting historical monuments. The ruling came in a Birmingham case. Marshall sued in 2017 after then-mayor William Bell ordered workers to cover up the Confederate monument at Linn Park. Retiring Circuit Court Judge Michael Graffeo, a Democrat, ruled the law is unconstitutional because it forces the majority-black city to endorse a pro-Confederate message. "It is undisputed that an overwhelming majority of the body politic of the city is repulsed by the Monument," Graffeo wrote. State Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa), who sponsored the law, said it is important to protect Alabama's history for future generations. "The attorney general's office is confident that the Memorial Preservation Act is constitutional, and I look forward to the attorney general's appeal of Judge Graffeo's ruling."
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