Editing Martin Luther King Jr. Day (section)

===Federal passage===
[[Ronald Reagan|President Ronald Reagan]] originally opposed the holiday, citing cost concerns. When asked to comment on Helms' accusations that King was a communist, the president said "We'll know in thirty-five years, won't we", referring to the eventual release of [[FBI]] surveillance tapes that had previously been [[record sealing|sealed]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Younge|first1=Gary|title=The Misremembering of 'I Have a Dream'|journal=The Nation|date=September 2–9, 2013|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/175764/misremembering-i-have-dream|access-date=April 12, 2015|archive-date=April 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426110321/http://www.thenation.com/article/175764/misremembering-i-have-dream|url-status=live}}</ref> But on November 2, 1983, Reagan signed a bill into law, proposed by [[Katie Hall (American politician)|Representative Katie Hall]] of Indiana, to create a federal holiday honoring King.<ref name="reagan">{{cite web|last=Woolley |first=John T. |author2=Gerhard Peters |date=November 2, 1983 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40708 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720080942/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40708 |title=Ronald Reagan: Remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a National Holiday |publisher=[[The American Presidency Project]] |access-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=statute>{{USStatute|98|399|98|1475|1984|8|27}}</ref> The final vote in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] on August 2, 1983, was 338–90 (242–4 in the [[House Democratic Caucus]] and 89–77 in the [[House Republican Conference]]) with 5 members voting present or abstaining,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/h289|title=TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PASS H.R. 3706, A BILL AMENDING TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE TO MAKE THE BIRTHDAY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., A LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY. (MOTION PASSED;2/3 REQUIRED).|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520080737/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/h289|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dewar"/> while the final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983, was 78–22 (41–4 in the [[Senate Democratic Caucus]] and 37–18 in the [[Senate Republican Conference]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19.|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520132928/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dewar |first1=Helen |title=Solemn Senate Votes For National Holiday Honoring Rev. King |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/solemn_senate_votes_for_national_holiday.html |access-date=March 11, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 20, 1983 |archive-date=January 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123184908/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/solemn_senate_votes_for_national_holiday.html |url-status=live }}</ref> both [[veto]]-proof margins. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.<ref name=statute/> It is observed on the third Monday of January.<ref>{{cite news |author=May, Ashley |title=What is open and closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/18/mlk-day-what-open-and-closed-martin-luther-king-jr-day/2612990002/ |work=USA Today |date=January 18, 2019 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118213547/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/18/mlk-day-what-open-and-closed-martin-luther-king-jr-day/2612990002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The bill also established the "Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission"<ref name=statute/> to oversee observance of the holiday, and [[Coretta Scott King]], King's wife, was made a member of this commission for life by [[George H. W. Bush|President George H. W. Bush]] in May 1989.<ref name="bush">{{cite web|last=Woolley |first=John T. |author2=Gerhard Peters |date=May 17, 1989 |archive-date=October 2, 2012 |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17040 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002135726/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17040 |title=George Bush: Remarks on Signing the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission Extension Act |publisher=[[The American Presidency Project]] |access-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{USStatute|101|30|103|60|1989|05|17}}</ref>