Sandra Day O'Connor in the Rose Garden with Reagan, 07/15/1981.
Arizona lawmakers are calling on Congress to honor the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor with a statue in Washington D.C.
House Joint Resolution 2002 would replace the statue of Father Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit explorer, with one of the late justice in Statuary Hall within the capitol building.
As a representative for Greenlee County where Justice O’Connor grew up, Congressman Juan Ciscomani said he’s in full support of honoring her legacy.
Ciscomani joined the resolution’s sponsor, Republican State Representative Matt Gress, at a press conference yesterday.
“I cannot think of anyone more deserving than Sandra Day O'Connor to join the ranks of our nation's most influential figures in the United States Capitol,” he said.
O’Connor grew up on an Arizona ranch, and served in the legislature before she became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court in 1981. O’Connor died on Dec. 1, 2023.
An 1864 law allows each state to send two statues to the U-S Capitol to honor distinguished individuals after their death. Barry Goldwater is Arizona’s second statue alongside Kino.
If passed, Governor Katie Hobbs would make a request to the Library of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol for a new statue on behalf of the state. Gress said if approved, construction and installation of a new statue could take several years.
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