A Confederate statue that prompted peaceful protests in recent years can remain outside the Gaston County Courthouse, a judge ruled Friday. The statue of a soldier holding a rifle is an “object of remembrance%20Limitations%20on%20Removal.,the%20limitations%20in%20this%20subsection.)” as defined in N.C. Gen. Statute 100-2.1, Judge Robert Ervin ruled in Gaston County Superior Court. As such, Ervin found, the law protects the statue from being removed. The state statute is titled “Protection of monuments, memorials, and works of art.” “The County’s failure to remove the object of remembrance to d…