Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH) on Monday proposed legislation that would no longer fund local jurisdictions that cancel Columbus Day celebrations.
“This is about every son and daughter of Italy, every Knights of Columbus, every pasta dinner on Sunday, and every communion — everything that makes our culture who we are, from Philadelphia to San Francisco,” Rulli said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Rulli’s legislation follows after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation, noting that October 13 will be Columbus Day, which was named after Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer of Italian heritage who discovered America.
FILE/Pascuale Altilio, 5, is dressed as an Italian Carabiniere officer during the Columbus Day Parade October 14, 2002 in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty).
“Every Little Italy neighborhood of this country celebrates Christopher Columbus. It’s so much more than the man. It’s the people,” he added.
The Buckeye State conservative’s bill would strip funding for local jurisdictions that no longer honor Columbus.
“We are not going to allow any American municipality to think that they have power over the federal government,” he continued.
Fox News reported:
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden formally recognized the second Monday in October as both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
The move was lauded by progressive activists and historians who saw Christopher Columbus as the harbinger of a genocide against the land’s indigenous people, millions of whom were killed amid American colonization.
“I mean, the Native Americans are some of the most amazing, dynamic cultural people that make up the fabric of America. But they need their own special day,” Rulli said.
Rulli remarked, “And I would be willing to do that. I’m saying right now, I would be willing to get the indigenous people their own day, but not this day.”
“By no means, no way, shape or form, is this bill meant to offend any of the indigenous people. They deserve their own day. We will get them their own day, but not Columbus Day. This has already been embedded in our fabric for 130 years,” Rulli said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.