Proposed Bill Would Kill Columbus Day In Favor Of Native American Day

No love for Christopher Columbus? Seems like it’s about time somebody in the government decided to keep it real.

Via NY DailyNews reports:

Assemblymember Roger Hernandez, a Democrat from West Covina, in Los Angeles County, proposed a bill earlier this week that would replace Columbus Day with Native American Day.

Native Americans are already recognized on the fourth Friday of September, but Hernandez’s bill would shift it to the second Monday in October, a day almost sacred to many Italian-Americans.

California nixed Columbus Day as a paid holiday for state workers during the recession in 2009. Hernandez’ bill would reinstate it.

Hernandez said in a press release that the bill is “inspired by the recognition that the so-called discovery of the Americas by Columbus eventually led to the genocide of Native Americans.”

“We’re not trying to rewrite history,” Hernandez told The Huffington Post. “We just want to provide recognition and credit to the true discoverers of the land.”

“That’s the day we honor Columbus for discovering the Americas, and that’s very unfair to the original inhabitants,” he said.

If the bill is signed into law, California would join Hawaii, Alaska and South Dakota as states who have snubbed the Italian explorer.

A few local governments in California have already dumped Columbus Day in favor of “Indigenous People’s Day,” HuffPo reported.

Italian-American lawmakers in the legislature said they’d fight Hernadez’ proposal.

“As a proud fifth-generation Italian American, I support Columbus Day and the contributions of Italians to California,” state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani told The Los Angeles Times.

Would you support this motion?

Shutterstock