Updated, February 9, 9:16PM
Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland said later on Thursday his bill was meant as satire, to mock tough anti-immigration bills introduced by his fellow legislators.
The original piece follows:
A lawmaker in Mississippi is pushing to change the name of “the body of water located directly south” of the state, the Gulf of Mexico, to the “Gulf of America.”
State Rep. Steve Holland (D) has introduced HB 150, which says that “for all official purposes within the state of Mississippi, the body of water located directly south of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties shall be known as the ‘Gulf Of America’; and for related purposes.”
The blog bestofneworleans.com first pointed out the bill, which is currently being considered by the House Marine Resources Committee. If passed, it will take effect on July 1st, 2012.
As bestofneworleans.com pointed out, Holland might be getting his legislative ideas from an unlikely source:
The Colbert Report
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h/t ThinkProgress.
Composite image includes photo from Bruce Rolff / Shutterstock
