Mississippi Bill Changes Name of 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America'

If a Mississippi lawmaker gets his way, the Gulf of Mexico will become the “Gulf of America.”

Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland, a Democrat, has introduced a bill calling for the part of the Gulf of Mexico that is bordered by Mississippi to be renamed the “Gulf of America.”

The measure, known as HB 150 and introduced to the state House Marine Resources Committee, says the body of water will have its new name beginning July 1.

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The proposed name change has drawn criticism from various groups, including a Latino GOP organization known as Café Con Leche, which sent Holland a letter demanding that he withdraw the bill and calling HB 150 anti-Mexican.

If this bill passes the legislature and is signed into law, perhaps it is time to rename the Mississippi River.

— Bob Quasius, President of Latino GOP group Café Con Leche

“If this bill passes the legislature and is signed into law, perhaps it is time to rename the Mississippi River,” wrote Bob Quasius, Café Con Leche’s president, in the letter. “After all, sharing a name with a state that wants to rewrite maps out of disdain for Mexicans would be a disgrace to the rest of the nation.”

“The Lincoln River would be a suitable substitute name, in honor of a great man, don’t you think?” the letter continued. “We call on you to withdraw your bill and spare us all further embarrassment.”

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A New Orleans website quipped: “Riding upon a chariot of Hummers driven by bald eagles, Mississippi Rep. Steve Holland filed a guns blazing cowboy steak of a bill, proudly waving our nation’s red, white and God-fearing blue to protect our American coastal waters.”

The Gulf is bordered by the United States to the north (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), five Mexican states to the west (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan), and the island of Cuba to the southeast.