Not long ago, the state of Arizona refused to make MLK's b-day a holiday. How are things there since those days? (attorney, bill)

[DetroitExodus]

Interested to know.

[MaxPower123]

Everything is peachy here.

[BurtsBees]

What kind of question is this?

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by DetroitExodus

Interested to know.

Entire books could be written about the MLK Holiday controversy. The issue was a complex one. This is how I remember it:

1986 -- King Day was gaining momentum nationally. Governor Bruce Babbitt wanted to implement the holiday but thought it would be tough to get the conservative legislature to approve it. Instead, he used an executive order to declare a paid Monday holiday for state employees.

1988 -- Evan Mecham became governor. Based on an opinion from Attorney General Bob Corbin, he decided that Babbitt's proclamation of a paid holiday via executive order was illegal. He rescinded the paid holiday and replaced it with an unpaid one. That action, coupled with some controversial remarks by Mecham, began to generate negative publicity for Arizona.

1990 -- With Mecham no longer in office, the Legislature worked with Governor Rose Mofford to implement a paid MLK holiday. Unfortunately, the bill they passed replaced Columbus Day with King Day, angering some Italian-Americans. Enough signatures were gathered to put the holiday on hold pending a referendum. The Legislature then passed an alternative version of the holiday that consolidated Lincoln and Washington's birthdays into President's Day and added King Day. At that point, anti-King Day forces on the fringes were already mobilized, and they gathered signatures putting the second holiday on hold pending a referendum.

As a result, both versions of the King Holiday were presented to voters on the November 1990 ballot. It was a confusing situation, and the majority of voters, who supported some form of King Day, split their votes between the two competing versions. As a result, neither one received enough votes to pass, and Arizona was left in the embarrassing position of being the state known for voter rejection of King Day. Most national media attention did not make note of the voter confusion and other mitigating factors mentioned above. As a result of the negative publicity, numerous conventions and events, including the 1993 Super Bowl, were moved to locations outside Arizona.

1992 -- In an attempt to resolve the issue once and for all, Governor Symington and the Legislature presented voters with a single referendum on King Day. It passed by a wide margin, the boycotts ended, and the issue became history.

Fifteen years later, the whole issue seems quaint. Black-white racial relations are no longer the subject of much controversy here. These days, the controversy over illegal immigration is the lighting rod issue in Arizona.

[DetroitExodus]

Wow..as you mentioned, there definitly was NOT national coverage of some of the details you mentioned..like the two MLK proposals to vote on. I knew nothing about that until i just read it here. Anyway, thanks a lot. That was very informative.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by DetroitExodus

Interested to know.

Isn't it up to your employer's discretion...? I have it off. I'm also willing to 'put up with' any ethnic and religious holiday as long as it's a day off!

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Isn't it up to your employer's discretion...? I have it off. I'm also willing to 'put up with' any ethnic and religious holiday as long as it's a day off!

Private sector employers set their own holiday schedules. Even during the late '80s / early '90s controversy, many employers honored King Day on their own despite the 1990 vote. The controversy was over a paid holiday for state employees and the symbolism of having King Day designated a holiday by the state government.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by DetroitExodus

Wow..as you mentioned, there definitly was NOT national coverage of some of the details you mentioned..like the two MLK proposals to vote on. I knew nothing about that until i just read it here. Anyway, thanks a lot. That was very informative.

There was no need for national coverage

Nothing major

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by silverbear

Private sector employers set their own holiday schedules. Even during the late '80s / early '90s controversy, many honored King Day on their own despite the 1990 vote. The controversy was over a paid holiday for state employees and the symbolism of having King Day designated a holiday by the state government.

Employers don't need to give any holidays off -

[Ponderosa]

Let's also remember that Arizona is the ONLY state in the union that adopted a MLK day by vote of the people. I wonder how many states would have voted for it had the voters actually been given the opportunity.