(AP) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’s not making an
economic argument for ending the state’s practice of honoring Martin Luther King
Jr. and Robert E. Lee on the same day. He just says removing the Confederate
general from the holiday honoring the civil rights leader is the right thing to
do.
Hutchinson on Wednesday said his agenda includes removing Lee from the King
holiday. Arkansas is one of three states that honor Lee and King on the third
Monday of January. An effort to remove Lee from the King holiday was rejected by
a House panel in 2015.
Hutchinson said he believes King deserves the holiday to himself because of
his civil rights record and the impact he had. He said the proposal he’s backing
would mark a day in October to honor Lee, but not create a state holiday for it.
Hutchinson said he hasn’t talked with any businesses that don’t want to move
to Arkansas because of the combined holiday.
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