Christopher Columbus sailed into a hurricane when the House voted 37-26 Monday to sink Columbus Day as a state holiday and replace it with a new one — Colorado Day — on the first Monday of every August. House Bill 1185 now heads to the Senate for consideration where it could be ushered along by the Democratic majority to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. Or it could die a political death in an unfriendly committee.

Getting rid of Columbus Day as a state holiday is now an annual ritual at the Legislature. And the national tide seems to be shifting against Columbus. For example, the Montana legislature is considering legislation to replace Columbus Day with an Indigenous People’s Day. But here in Colorado — the first state to adopt Columbus Day — the issue always pits the state’s Italian American community against an array of critics.