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 there is in other states, of a special day commemorating the ratification of the Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, commemoration of 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 our State, the nation, and the world; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that December 15 of every year shall be proclaimed Bill of Rights Day; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are requested to direct that a copy of the Bill of Rights be conspicuously displayed in the State Capitol; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Report Title: Requesting the Governor to Designate December 15 as Bill of Rights Day

Bill of Rights Day