Jay Inslee: “Today, when we pass the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Monument Act of 2007, we will be making a strong American…”

“Today, when we pass the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Monument Act of 2007, we will be making a strong American statement. That statement will be that the power of fear will never again be allowed to overcome the promise of liberty. These are images we should never see again in America; and today, with the passage of this bill, we will make a strong American statement that they will not. On March 30, 1942, the American Army, pursuant to an executive order by an American President, rounded up 227 Americans living on Bainbridge Island and marched them down the Eagledale Dock in Eagle Harbor of Bainbridge Island, Washington, surrounded by American soldiers, some having bayonets deployed. They were taken away to internment against their will, without trial and without recognition of their rights as citizens and their honor to serve America. And now, today, when we are making the memorial on Bainbridge Island at the site of this dock, which is now being prepared and is under construction, we will be making an American statement that this cannot happen again.”