House committee adjourns during Lee holiday debate

LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas legislative battle to remove Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday came to an abrupt end Friday because too many lawmakers left the room.

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee met to vote on whether to separate celebrations of the black civil rights icon and the white leader of the Confederate Army, but adjourned after a head count revealed that only eight of the 11 members needed to maintain quorum were in the room.

Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi are the only states to honor the men on the same day. Legislation to end the joint celebration was filed in January after a photo of a sign noting the King and Lee holiday was circulated online, drawing comments and criticism.

The bill by Democratic Rep. Fredrick Love of Little Rock would remove Lee from the existing holiday on the third Monday in January. It would create a memorial day for Lee on the second Friday in January, which is close to Lee's birthday. Love has said it is a compromise that honors both men.

"This bill moves Arkansas ahead and forward in the areas of race relations by separating these two days," Love said. "It is just another step in healing the scar of... this deep issue in regard to race."

Arkansas has recognized Lee's birthday since the 1940s. State lawmakers voted to recognize King's birthday as a state holiday in 1983, and combined the celebrations two years later.

A similar bill by committee Chairman Nate Bell, R-Mena, failed twice to advance after an outpouring of public criticism that the separation would belittle Southern heritage and that the change was unnecessary and discriminatory. Supporters said the change would improve Arkansas' reputation in the field of race relations and that King's views of nonviolence are incompatible with those of the general.

Rep. Michelle Gray, a Melbourne Republican who motioned for the headcount, said after the vote that the committee has already decided on the issue and that feedback from her constituents indicates most oppose the bill. She said bringing up the issue again does nothing to improve race relations.

"The talking points remain the same and I think our voices were heard the first time," Gray said. "It's monotonous; everyone is tired of hearing the same thing over and over."

Love said after the vote that he plans to present the bill again on Monday, and that he believes he has the support to advance the bill from committee if he can get enough members in the room. The committee chairman was not optimistic.

The session is tentatively scheduled to close at the end of the month and Bell said controversial bills are harder to advance the later it gets.

"I think the bill is on life support, at best," Bell said after the meeting. "I think it's technically alive until Wednesday or Thursday."

State Desk on 03/21/2015

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