May 1998
Affiliate News: South Dakota
It's official: South Dakota is now the first state with a Bill of Rights Day, thanks to a lobbying campaign led by LP activist Jim Christen."The Bill of Rights is what makes this country unique and a beacon of freedom around the world," Christen said. "It is the cornerstone of our democracy -- and it's time we celebrated it."
The bill passed the House in January but later was tabled in the Senate. Christen managed to revive the measure, and it wound up passing the Senate by a vote of 30-0. Then on March 13, Governor Bill Janklow signed it into law. It will be celebrated as a working holiday on December 15, the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791.
