By Joey Bunch

Columbus Day will live on in Colorado after legislation to abolish it was voted down Monday night. Rep. Joe Salazar, a Democrat from Thornton who sponsored the bill, originally sought to have Oct. 12 renamed Indigenous People's Day. He dropped that part of the proposal with an amendment during the committee hearing.

The four-hour debate centered on celebrating Christopher Columbus, who enslaved or slaughtered indigenous people, or recognizing Italian heritage. Dozens of Coloradans made impassioned cases for or against the proposal before the House State, Veterans and Military Committee. The committee voted 7-2 against advancing the bill. "It's a controversial bill because it's about what our state stands for," Salazar told the committee.

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Source: http://blogs.denverpost.com/