Report Title:

Bill of Rights Day

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

75

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

ESTABLISHING BILL OF RIGHTS DAY IN THE STATE OF HAWAII.

 

 

WHEREAS, The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791; and

WHEREAS, The Bill of Rights recognizes, affirms and protects fundamental human and civil rights for which persons of all races have struggled for thousands of years; and

WHEREAS, to preserve the rights and freedoms secured by the Bill of Rights, our Forefathers, and hundreds of thousands of men and women serving in the police agencies and Armed Forces of the United States, have sacrificed, suffered and died; and

WHEREAS, the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights deserve perennial celebrations and the sacrifices made to protect the Bill of Rights deserve eternal remembrance; and

WHEREAS, in the State of Hawaii there has been no formal observance of a special day commemorating the ratification of the Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming currently celebrate a Bill of Rights Day; and

WHEREAS, several of the original States refused to ratify the Constitution without an express Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, to commemorate the Bill of Rights with a special day would honor the fundamental rights it enshrines and the sacrifices made to create and preserve these rights, and would proclaim these rights to the citizens of the State, to this Nation and to the World;

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that December 15th of every year be designated Bill of Rights Day in the State of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of the Bill of Rights be conspicuously displayed at the State Capitol Building and provided to all citizens upon request; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all government agencies be encouraged to observe the annual Bill of Rights Day in a manner that brings to mind the meaning and importance of each of the Ten Articles contained in the Bill; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the first annual commemoration of Bill of Rights Day begin on December 15, 2001; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawaii and the Constitutional Rights Coalition.

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________