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Leaders weigh in after Cooper calls for Confederate monuments to come down

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte area leaders are weighing in after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called for all Confederate monuments to come down across the state.

[IMAGES: Confederate monuments in the Charlotte area]

It came one day after a group tore down a Confederate statue in Durham, and days after a woman was killed in Charlottesville, Virginia during a rally.

"We are hoping that momentum of what has happened in the last week will be enough to convince a bipartisan group of legislators to allow for the removal of the almost 100 Confederate monuments in the state," said Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts.

It would take an act by the Legislature to bring the monuments down. They're protected under a 2015 law that prevents their removal.

Channel 9 talked to North Carolina state Sen. Jeff Tarte, R-Mecklenburg, who said it’s a conversation that needs to be had.

"I think what we want to do is avoid knee jerk reaction in any events,” Tarte said. "But we also need to be sensitive that the issue is not going to go away."

[RELATED: 4 protesters arrested, accused of helping to topple Durham Confederate statue]

But the question remains-- would all the monuments come down?

There are two in Charlotte: one by the Grady Cole Center near CPCC and the other in Elmwood Cemetery.

Channel 9 asked the Roberts if she wants them both to come down.

“There is a lot of concerns about cemeteries and removing monuments from cemeteries because of respect for the dead. That is a conversation to be had. I think the one at Grady Cole should go," Roberts said.

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