ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session
	Senate: GOV DP 7-0-1-0 | 3^rd Read 30-0-0-0

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SB 1800: Fred Korematsu day; observed.

Sponsor:  Senator Borrelli, LD  5

Committee on Government & Elections

Overview

Creates January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.

History

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland, California on January 30, 1919.  He was the child of Japanese immigrant parents who ran a floral nursery business in Oakland, California.  In 1942, Executive Order 9066 was signed into order that authorized the United States military to remove over 120,000 people of Japanese descent from their homes and force them into American prison camps throughout the United States.

Fred Korematsu was arrested and convicted in federal court for violating the military orders issued under Executive Order 9066 and placed on a five-year probation.  He was sent to an American concentration camp that the government set up in Utah.  Korematsu appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court and in 1944 the high court ruled against him.  Eventually, in the 1980s, Korematsu's U.S. Supreme Court case was reopened resulting in the overturning of his criminal conviction for defying the incarceration (Korematsu Institute).

Provisions

1. Establishes January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. (Sec. 1)

2. Specifies that Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution is not a legal holiday. (Sec. 1)

3. Contains a legislative intent clause. (Sec. 2)

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                        SB 1800

Initials SJ        Page 0 Government & Elections

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