Will Rhode Island really change its racist name?

But we now find ourselves once again asking just exactly how much executive authority Governor Raimondo thinks she has and what she really just did. Even as she was signing the order she admitted that she couldn t permanently change the name because that would require an amendment to the state constitution approved by the voters. But she can temporarily change the name of the state and order every department to remove Providence Plantations from their web sites, letterhead and other devices?

Raimondo isn t just overriding the legislative branch s powers at this point. She s overriding the state constitution. And on what basis? Sweeping executive powers are generally invoked during a state of emergency such as the current pandemic. And while she s far from the only governor to use them, she s really been cranking out the EOs using the pandemic as her rationale for doing so. But what emergency is the Governor responding to by summarily changing the name of the entire state? They ve had that name for centuries and obviously some people found it problematic because they ve tried to change it through the proper channels in the past. The tragic deaths of some Black citizens (in other states) and some protests and riots are not the same as a Category 5 hurricane making landfall or a virus that s wiping out a measurable chunk of the population.

via hotair.com