Friday and Saturday’s demonstrations by nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville, VA, culminating in the murder of one peaceful protester and serious injury to many others, once again showed that Confederate monuments serve not only as symbols of but as rallying points for hatred and violence. It is long past time to begin taking down those monuments in our state, but that work can’t begin until the General Assembly repeals Senate Bill 22, which prevents local governments from removing any “object of remembrance located on public property.” We urge the immediate repeal of this law so that the citizens of North Carolina and their local governments may remove monuments that celebrate bigotry.