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State and local entities in Alabama may soon be forced to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
A bill introduced this week by Rep. David Standridge and co-sponsored by 56 other House Republicans would officially recognize the name change and force all entities in the state to adopt the change. That would include all newly created official maps, road signs and school textbooks and other educational materials.
The change would go into effect on July 1.
The renaming effort began seriously on an apparent whim by current President Donald Trump, who randomly mentioned the change during a press event and later signed an executive order to make it official. The order, however, is not recognized internationally and won’t change the name of the Gulf on official maps recognized by NATO and international oceanic organizations.
While the legislation proposed by Standridge says that the change isn’t required if it places an undue burden or financial hardship, renaming the Gulf of Mexico is likely to cost Alabama, and other Gulf states, well into the millions of dollars. That’s not including the costs to hundreds of businesses that incorporate the name into their products, services and even business names.
The name Gulf of Mexico first appeared on maps in the 1500s and was commonly used by the 1600s. The name is believed to have originated from Spanish sailors.
“Gulf of America” has been previously used to refer to the area, albeit sarcastically. One of the first instances was comedian and late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert, who used the name in 2010 on his “Colbert Report,” when establishing a fund to help Gulf states recover from the BP oil spill.
“We can’t use the name Gulf of Mexico anymore. We broke it, we bought it,” Colbert joked.
