Assembly Calls for Congressman´s Resignation

The California Assembly has unanimously called for North Carolina Congressman Howard Coble to resign as chair of a House Homeland Security subcommittee because of his comments about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two.

A bipartisan group of Asian legislators questions why Coble has kept his post since February. They note that it took just days for Trent Lott of Mississippi to resign as Republican Senate leader after appearing to praise Strom Thurmond´s segregationist presidential campaign.

Japanese American leaders hope the vote by representatives of the state with the largest concentration of Asians and Japanese will add pressure on Coble 3,000 miles away.

Coble´s chief of staff Missy Branson says the congressman has no comment beyond a February written statement.