House approves renaming Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ for state purposes after heated debate

The Alabama House voted to adopt House Bill 247, a measure that directs state and local entities to use the name “Gulf of America” for state purposes instead of “Gulf of Mexico.” The floor debate extended for more than an hour and exposed wide disagreements among members on history, tourism economics and constitutional authority.

Nut graf: Supporters argued the name change honors the Gulf’s importance to the United States and to Alabama’s ports and energy industries; opponents said the change would create confusion for tourism, commerce and maps, raise potential legal and fiscal costs, and risk cultural and historical erasure.

Representative Standridge, the bill’s sponsor, said an executive order at the federal level and recent adoption by…