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Florida Government & Politics

Lauren Book Files Bill to Eliminate Confederate Holidays in Florida

Florida law currently recognizes the Confederate Memorial Day (April 26) as a state-sanctioned holiday, along with the birthdays for Confederate President Jefferson Davis (June 3) and Confederate General Robert E. Lee (Jan. 19). Florida is one of five states that have kept Confederate Memorial Day a legal holiday.

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State Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, has once again filed a bill to eliminate state recognition of Confederate holidays and to repeal provisions penalizing destruction to or damage of the Confederate flag.

“As a state, we must underscore diversity and undercut tributes to Confederacy, which upheld the institution of slavery,” Book said on Tuesday. “With the hate and divisiveness we’re seeing today, it is more important than ever to condemn racism and reaffirm that we are indeed ‘one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all – not just for some.”

Florida law currently recognizes the Confederate Memorial Day (April 26) as a state-sanctioned holiday, along with the birthdays for Confederate President Jefferson Davis (June 3) and Confederate General Robert E. Lee (Jan. 19). Florida is one of five states that have kept Confederate Memorial Day a legal holiday.

Book first filed legislation to remove Confederate holidays in 2017 following the deadly Charlottesville rally.

State Rep. Michael Grieco, D-Miami Beach, has filed a related bill in the Florida House.

 

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