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More Calif. Lawmakers Urge N.C. Congressman to Resign Post

By Associated Press
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—The California Senate joined the state Assembly on Monday in urging Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., to resign as chairman of a congressional subcommittee because of his comments rationalizing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Coble, a North Carolina Republican who heads the House Judiciary subcommittee on homeland security, said during a Feb. 4 radio show that the internment was for the Japanese Americans’ own protection.

“We were at war,’’ Coble said. “For many of these Japanese Americans, it wasn’t safe for them to be on the street.’’

He also said that some Japanese Americans “probably were intent on doing harm to us, just as some of these Arab Americans are probably intent on doing harm to us.’’

The California Assembly voted 70-0 last month to condemn the comments as “insulting, inflammatory (and) inaccurate.’’ Assemblyman George Nakano, who was interned at age 6, said Coble’s comments amount to rewriting history.

“I still remember guards’ rifles pointing inward to the camp—not to protect us but to keep us in,’’ said Nakano, D-Torrance.

The Senate approved the same resolution Monday by a 31-0 vote. Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, urged his colleagues to vote for the measure “on behalf of what we stand for as Americans.’’

Coble has refused comment, except to say that he regrets Japanese Americans took offense at his words.