Utah Considers Renaming MLK Day After Rifle Manufacturer

Utah state Senators are considering a plan to rename Martin Luther King Day to include mention of rifle manufacturer John Browning.

A plan is circulating under the radar in the Utah State Senate to share the holiday honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., shot to death in 1968, with one of the country's most famous gun makers. The plan is to rename the holiday, which falls on the third Monday of January, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr./John M. Browning Day, adding the gun manufacturer whose birthday also falls in January. A bill titled "John M. Browning State Holiday" was submitted at the deadline for filings, Feb. 5, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi. The bill, SB247, has no text, following a common practice in which legislators file a title, get a bill number and fill in details later. Those are called boxcar bills.

But a draft has been circulating in the Senate that would combine the current King holiday with a celebration of Browning, an Ogden native and one of the most significant pioneers in firearms manufacturing. Supporters of the idea say Browning's inventions, which included the most sophisticated automatic and semi-automatic weaponry of the early 20th Century, were instrumental in U.S. wars against tyranny and partially responsible for the continued freedom that allowed King to do his work. The Utah Legislature has a contentious history with the holiday honoring King. After President Ronald Reagan signed the legislation creating the federal holiday, bitter debates resulted in a compromise, calling the holiday "Human Rights Day." Utah changed the name to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2000, becoming the last state to do so.

MLK was killed with a Remington, not a Browning, something that probably disappoints the asshats behind the bill.

(Via - AmericaBlog)