The destruction of monuments and other objects of remembrance throughout history did not erase the history they represented.

• In 1944, Nazi Germany destroyed numerous buildings, castles and parks in Poland.
• From 1959 to 1964, Nikita Khrushchev closed and/or destroyed more than 10,000 mostly-rural churches as part of his anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union.
• In 2001, the Taliban destroyed 6^th century Buddha statues they declared to be “heretical idols.”
• ISIS has destroyed countless historical monuments and artifacts. Their acts have been referred to as a “cultural cleansing.”

We are Americans. We preserve our past and our heritage so we may learn from our successes and our failures.

Destruction of monuments dedicated to historical figures and heroes of our past will not delete the history they represent. In fact, their destruction will only divide us further.

Today, the target of cultural cleansing is Civil War and Confederate monuments. If you support destruction of monuments to that part of our shared history, who is to say monuments to a part of history you want to protect won’t be a target tomorrow?

Destruction of monuments is a slippery slope, indeed.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans died during the U.S. Civil War. Monuments and statues across our state commemorate the sacrifices of some 40,000 North Carolinians who died during the war – and the families who sacrificed with them.

In 2015, I voted in favor of a bill that protects all monuments across our state equally from destruction and removal. I stand by that vote, and I will not vote to lessen the protection of monuments should the occasion arise.

If you were to dedicate your time and energy to erecting a monument today, would you want future generations to tear it down in a fit of short-sighted rage? No, you dedicated your time and energy to that purpose because you wanted future generations to remember something significant.

Monuments that our forbearers built should remain so we and future generations may learn from our past.

Willful destruction of property against monuments dedicated to our past and the general lawlessness and violence that surrounded acts of the past week cannot be tolerated. I support the Durham County sheriff’s decision to charge those involved in the destruction of a monument in Durham on Monday.

Gov. Roy Cooper said this week that monuments should come down, and the history they represent belongs in museums and textbooks. If he got his way, removal of that history from textbooks and museums would be next.

You cannot rewrite our history, Gov. Cooper. I will not be party to any attempt to do so.

Michele Presnell

PRESS RELEASE

President Pro Tempore

Senator Phil Berger

919-733-5708

2007 Legislative Building

Raleigh, N.C. 27601

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Auth, 919-301-1737

Shelly Carver, 919-301-1744

April 21, 2017

Berger Responds to State Board of Elections Audit Findings

Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) responded Friday to a State Board of Elections audit that found more than 500 ineligible votes were cast in North Carolina during the 2016 general election:

“We appreciate the State Board of Elections’ efforts to investigate these types of irregularities, which undermine confidence in the integrity of our elections, and to share their findings with the public,” said Berger. “If even one fraudulently cast ballot effectively disenfranchises a legitimate voter, then that is one too many, and that’s why we continue to support commonsense policies like voter ID that improve voter confidence.”

In addition to the audit’s findings, a federal investigation into coordinated voter fraud in Bladen County is currently ongoing.

NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Tim Moore                         Sen. Phil Berger
Speaker of the House               President Pro Tempore

     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 29, 2016

Berger, Moore Respond to Politically-Motivated Ruling Blocking Voter ID

Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) issued the following joint statement Friday in response to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on voter ID:

“Since today’s decision by three partisan Democrats ignores legal precedent, ignores the fact that other federal courts have used North Carolina’s law as a model, and ignores the fact that a majority of other states have similar protections in place, we can only wonder if the intent is to reopen the door for voter fraud, potentially allowing fellow Democrat politicians like Hillary Clinton and Roy Cooper to steal the election. We will obviously be appealing this politically-motivated decision to the Supreme Court.”

The voter ID law ensures any North Carolina citizen who wants to vote will have that opportunity. The law establishes a list of valid government-issued photo IDs that voters can present at their polling places, allows anyone without a photo ID to obtain one at no cost through the Department of Motor Vehicles, and allows anyone who still has difficulty obtaining a valid ID to fill out a reasonable impediment affidavit and still have their vote counted. It also brings North Carolina into the mainstream of other states on matters of same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting.

More than 30 other states have voter ID requirements, and a similar law was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 2008.

Polls – including those commissioned by groups challenging the law – consistently show the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians support voter ID. And political opponents of the law failed to produce a single witness who would be unable to vote under the law in court.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2016

Berger Responds to White House’s Attempt to Force Boys and Girls to Share Bathrooms, Locker Rooms in Schools

Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) issued the following statement Friday in response to the Obama administration’s directive to public schools across the United States that they make school-aged boys and girls share bathrooms and locker rooms:

“The last time I checked, the United States is not ruled by a king who can bypass Congress and the courts and force school-aged boys and girls to share the same bathrooms and locker rooms. This is an egregiously unconstitutional overreach of the president’s authority, and North Carolina’s public schools should follow state law which protects our children’s safety and privacy.”