RESOLUTION

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 on 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, as in other states, of a special day commemorating the ratification of the Bill of Rights, without which several of the original states would have refused to ratify the Constitution; 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 those rights, and would proclaim those rights to the citizens of the State, to this nation, and to the world; now, therefore,

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

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to direct 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 that Bill; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor.