Senate Joint Resolution No. 15

Introduced by Senator Glazer

(Principal coauthor: Senator Hall)

July 2, 2015

Senate Joint Resolution No. 15—Relative to the Confederate States of America.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 15, as introduced, Glazer. Confederate States of America.

This bill would 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 those associated with the Confederate States of America.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Confederate States of America and its
secessionist movement were rooted in the defense of slavery; and

WHEREAS, Using the names of those associated with the
Confederate States of America for federal buildings, parks,
roadways, or other federally owned property only deepens the pain
of those living under the legacy of slavery; and

WHEREAS, The United States of America continues to struggle
with racial equality and tolerance; and

WHEREAS, The continued use of names associated with the
Confederacy in public places is offensive to Americans who
treasure the United States as one nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all; and

WHEREAS, The horrific shooting deaths of nine African
Americans attending church in South Carolina have once again
raised the searing issue of racial violence and intolerance; and

WHEREAS, The ensuing images of the killer wrapping himself
in the Confederate flag points to the continued use of that emblem
of cruel oppression as a way to further demean, offend, and wound
whole segments of our society; and

WHEREAS, The use of Confederate-associated 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 of America, and is antithetical to California’s mission of
racial equality and tolerance; now; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges 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 those associated with the
Confederate States of America; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States.