BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s House of Representatives voted Monday to officially remove Robert E. Lee Day and Confederate Memorial Day from a list of state holidays.
The bill by Rep. Matthew Willard, a New Orleans Democrat, goes next to the state Senate.
Neither Confederate Memorial Day nor the day honoring the Confederate general has been observed in Louisiana for years. They are among a list of holidays a governor can proclaim in addition to other, permanent holidays that include Christmas and Independence Day. That list also includes Washington’s Birthday, National Memorial Day, and Huey P. Long Day, which honors the populist Louisiana politician who has assassinated in 1935 inside the state Capitol.
Willard’s bill has drawn little opposition. His bill removing the holidays from state law had passed the House Judiciary Committee 12-0 last month. It passed in the House by a vote of 62-20 with 23 members absent or not voting.