Lawmaker proposes eliminating Confederate holiday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A South Florida senator Thursday proposed a bill that would eliminate Confederate Memorial Day from a list of legal holidays included in state law.

The bill (SB 214), filed by Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, comes amid a national debate about Confederate symbols in the aftermath of a white-supremacist rally this month in Charlottesville, Va.

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State law includes a list of 21 legal holidays, including Confederate Memorial Day on April 26.

Book's bill, which is filed for the 2018 legislative session, would eliminate Confederate Memorial Day from the list, though it would maintain legal holidays for the birthday of Robert E. Lee on Jan. 19 and the birthday of Jefferson Davis on June 3.