New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will not allow New York City's Christopher Columbus statue to be removed under his watch.
"As long as I am governor of the great State of New York, there will be a statue of Christopher Columbus standing tall and proud in the city of New York," Cuomo said Saturday night at a function, according to the blog State of Politics.
Liberal groups have attacked and defaced Columbus statues across the United States in recent days and weeks over claims of racism and alleged atrocities that the Italian explorer, who discovered the New World over four voyages between 1492 and 1503, caused. Monday was Columbus Day.
Cuomo said defacing and vandalizing Columbus statues is more than simply an attack on Columbus himself.
"When the Columbus statue was attacked, it wasn't just an attack on Christopher Columbus. It was an attack on our Italian-American heritage and the fundamental principles that make America, America," Cuomo said. "Many, many of our statues in this country of men and women are memorialized not as a statement of their individual perfection, but for the cause, the ideals, the heritage they represent.
"I believe there is no rational argument to deny that the Italian-Americas made this country a better country. There's no rational argument to deny that New York would not be New York without the Italian-Americans."
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