LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Three Metro Council members are seeking to get the King Louis XVI statue moved back to its 53-year home in downtown Louisville.
The statue was moved to a storage lot on Sept. 3 after it was damaged and vandalized during unrest in Louisville.
Sponsored by councilmen Kevin Kramer, R-11, Anthony Piagentini, R-19 and Brent Ackerson, D-26, the resolution calls on Fischer to seek federal or third-party funding to repair and reinstall the statue if funding from Metro Government is unavailable. The measure also requests Fischer's administration provide Metro Council with "monthly updates regarding any restoration and reinstallation of the King Louis statue."
"We agree it should be removed," Piagentini said. "We agree it should be cleaned. But when that's done, it should be put back in its original position as a namesake and a piece of history for the city."
The resolution will get its first reading Thursday night, but there won't be a vote yet.
Co-sponsors of the resolution hope that the council and the city will recognize the importance of the statue to downtown's history.
"There is a sense of pride, a since of history, a sense of continuity that comes with taking what was a very, very nice gift, a very old statue, and maintaining it," Piagentini said.
The statue of King Louis XVI was a gift from Louisville's sister city, Montpellier, France. Louisville was named after the king because of his support of the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. King Louis was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution in 1793.
Unlike several other pieces of Louisville's history that have been at the center of racial controversy, like the John B. Castleman statue, council members say that's not the case with King Louis.
A statue of King Louis XVI is removed from downtown Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020.
"This is about a connection to history and symbolism for the city," Piagentini said.
Co-sponsors recognize the chance that it could be vandalized again if moved back to South Sixth and West Jefferson streets, but Piagentini believes that shouldn't deter the city from doing what's right.
"We should not alter what we do because of illegal activity," he said. "Protests aren't illegal, vandalism is illegal."
The resolution will be read for the first time Thursday night. It cannot go to a vote until the second reading.
Piagentini said he expects a vote in the next few weeks.
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