BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SJR 15
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SENATE THIRD READING
SJR
15 (Glazer)
As Amended July 15, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 31-2
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Judiciary |8-1 |Mark Stone, Wagner, |Gallagher |
| | |Burke, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Ting | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Urges Congress and the President of the United States
to rename federal buildings, parks, and properties currently
named for elected or military leaders of the Confederate States
of America. Specifically, this resolution:
1)Finds and declares that whereas;
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a) The Confederate States of America and its secessionist
movement were rooted in the defense of slavery.
b) Using names of Confederate leaders on federal property
deepens the pain of those living under the legacy of
slavery.
c) The United States continues to struggle with racial
equality and tolerance and the continued use of Confederate
names in public places is offensive to Americans.
d) The horrific shooting deaths of nine African Americans
attending church in South Carolina, and images of the
shooter wrapping himself in the Confederate flag, points to
the continued use of Confederate symbols to demean, offend,
and wound whole segments of our society.
e) The use of Confederate leaders' names in public schools,
buildings, parks, roadways, or other federally owned
property in California only serves to further the
discriminatory agenda of current sympathizers of the
ideology of the Confederate States, and is antithetical to
California's mission of racial equality and tolerance.
1)Resolves that the Legislature urge the Congress and the
President of the United States to rename any federal
buildings, parks, roadways, or other federally owned property
that bear the names of elected or military leaders of the
Confederate States of America, and to transmit copies of this
resolution, as specified.
EXISTING LAW: None applicable.
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FISCAL EFFECT: None.
COMMENTS: The Southern writer William Faulkner observed that
"the past is not dead. It is not even past." Nowhere is this
point better illustrated than in this resolution and the
contemporary national debate that it represents. Controversy
over the public use and display of Confederate names and symbols
has a long history, but the issue acquired new urgency after the
shooting deaths of nine African Americans while they worshipped
in a South Carolina church. The victims had invited a young man
to join their service, and he responded by killing them.
Investigations into the shooter's background revealed that he
was a white supremacist who had, among other things, posted
online a picture of himself draped in a Confederate flag. One
of the many reactions to the tragic shooting was a call to
remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse,
which was eventually done. In the weeks and months that
followed, other Southern localities and institutions removed
Confederate symbols and names from public places. Those who
support these efforts argue that the Confederacy stood for the
defense of slavery and in subsequent years its symbols -
especially the Confederate Battle Flag - became symbols of
segregation and white supremacy. According to the author, the
use of Confederate names, like the Confederate flag, is
demeaning and offensive to "those living under the legacy of
slavery" and an obstacle to our continuing struggle to achieve
racial equality and tolerance.
This resolution, therefore, urges Congress and the President of
the United States to "rename any federal buildings, parks,
roadways, or other federal owned property that bear the names of
elected or military leaders of the Confederate States of
America." Should Congress or the President take such action, it
is not entirely clear how many place names would be affected.
Perhaps the most obvious examples are at least ten military
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bases in Southern states named for various Confederate generals.
Changing the names of these bases seems more than reasonable,
especially given that the contemporary United States military is
the successor of the Union Army, not the defeated and defunct
Confederate Army. Surely there are many other worthy persons
for whom these bases could be named. However, changing the name
of other federal properties may be more complicated. For
example, General Robert E. Lee's home - a mansion occupied by
Union forces during the Civil War and dedicated in 1954 as the
Robert E. Lee Memorial - sits on the grounds of Arlington
National Park in Virginia. Even if the Memorial were renamed,
this resolution urges Congress to rename any federal "building"
or other property that "bear the names" of Confederate leaders.
Given that the mansion was Lee's home, it is difficult to
imagine that the building would not bear Lee's name, even if the
memorial as a whole were renamed. Nonetheless, this resolution
merely "urges" Congress and the President to rename federal
properties; it will presumably be up to Congress and the
President to develop the details and limits of the renaming
project.
Prior Related Legislation: SB 539 (Glazer) of the current
legislative session, would have prohibited, as of January 1,
2017, naming any school, park, building or other public property
in California after certain persons associated with the
Confederate States of America, and would have required the
removal of existing Confederate names by January 1, 2017. SB
539 was vetoed by the Governor on the grounds that removal of
names from local schools and properties should be handled by
local governments and communities.
AJR 26 (Weber), Resolution Chapter 196, Statutes of 2015,
encourages Congress to ban government use or display of the
confederate flag on federal property and encourages the several
states to similarly ban Confederate symbolism in state flags,
seals, and symbols.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN:
0003416