1676 Mass. law finally repealed

I'm amazed that this law was still on the books in 2005!

Massachusetts repeals 330-year-old law barring natives from Boston
at 22:58 on May 19, 2005, EST.

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts legislature repealed a 330-year-old law Thursday that barred native Americans from entering Boston and has long irked area tribes - even though it hasn't been enforced.

Both the state House of Representatives and the Senate voted to strike down the 1675 law passed during King Philip's War between colonists and area natives, that had remained on the books ever since.

Activists and native groups have been trying for years to scuttle the law. Boston Mayor Tom Menino filed a petition last fall to dump it and the city council passed it. But the state legislature didn't act until this week, when a committee swiftly approved a repeal bill Monday and sent it on to the legislature for a vote.

The bill must still be signed by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A Romney spokeswoman said he intends to.

The sudden impetus to dump the law arose because a national journalists organization - Unity: Journalists of Color Inc. - has considered Boston a site for its 2008 convention but said it would not come to Boston if the law remained in place.

The Unity convention, which brings together organizations of black, Asian-American, Hispanic and native journalists, lasts for four days and would bring an estimated $4.5 million to Boston.

The law was passed when tension between colonists and Wampanoag leader Metacom - derisively dubbed Philip by the settlers - escalated into violence in 1675. The war ended when Metacom was killed in 1676 but the law remained.