Plans Underway for Billy Graham Statue in the US Capitol
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The late Rev. Billy Graham might become a permanent fixture in the US Capitol.
North Carolina lawmakers have requested the statue of former state Gov. Charles B. Aycock be replaced with one of Graham.
Each state can place two statues honoring people who are deceased inside the Capitol. In 2015, when Graham was in his late nineties, North Carolina state lawmakers passed legislation calling for the statue of Aycock, who was a segregationist and white supremacist, to be removed and replaced with one of Rev. Graham.
Gov. Pat McCrory then signed the bill into law. Now that Graham has passed away, state representatives are encouraging the Architect of the Capitol to approve the switch.
Thank you @DanForestNC for initiating the process for having Rev. Graham memorialized in the US Capitol with a statue. @PatrickMcHenry has worked hard in Congress to make this happen. Great to see North Carolinians coming together to celebrate the life of our "favorite son." pic.twitter.com/PEbifva2it
— Rep. Mark Walker (@RepMarkWalker) March 1, 2018
"Today, as lieutenant governor of North Carolina and president of the North Carolina Senate, I write to encourage you to approve North Carolina's request to replace Gov. Aycock's statue with one of Rev. Graham," Lt. Gov. Dan Forest said in a letter to the Architect of the Capitol.
Now that a formal request has been sent, the Joint Committee on Library Action can either accept or deny it.
Gov. Aycock's statue currently sits in Statuary Hall. North Carolina's other statue is of Zebulon Baird Vance, who was a Confederate military officer, as well as two-time North Carolina governor and US senator.
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