CNN
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of California Robert Garcia will be sworn in to the Constitution – and a priceless classic Superman comic.
Comics are among the sentimental items that will be included in the Constitution when Garcia takes the ceremonial oath. The copy of “Superman” #1 will be stitched with photos of Garcia’s parents, who died of Covid-19, and his citizenship certificate, according to a Thursday tweet from Garcia.
“I look forward to being sworn in under the Constitution of the United States of America,” the Democrat wrote. “Beneath the Constitution there will be three items that mean a lot to me personally. A photo of my parents who passed away from covid, my citizenship certificate and Superman #1 from @librarycongress.”
Garcia was officially sworn in early Saturday morning along with other House members. It is currently unclear when the swearing-in ceremony, which Garcia will use in the comics, will take place.
In a statement emailed to CNN, Garcia explained that the comics were especially meaningful to him because they helped him learn English after coming to the US from Peru.
“I came to the US at the age of 5 as a Spanish speaker,” the politician said by email. “As a child, I used to buy comics at thrift stores and drugstores and that’s how I learned to read and write English.”
In addition, Superman is a profound symbol of Garcia’s values. He represents “truth and justice, an immigrant with a difference, raised by the kind people who welcomed them,” he added in his statement. “If you look at Superman values and caucus values, it’s about justice, it’s about honesty, it’s about doing the right thing, standing up for those in need.”
The exceptionally rare comic book, released in 1939, belongs to the Library of Congress.
“Members of Congress can borrow many of our materials, but due to the value and rarity of the Superman 1 comic, it is among those that we do not lend to anyone.” the library said in an emailed statement to CNN. “However, we are glad we were able to offer to bring it to Congress-elect Robert Garcia in a protective Mylar cover, and give it to him to keep underneath a copy of the US Constitution during the meeting. his oath of office.”
According to the library, after Garcia is sworn in, he will hand over the comic book protected by Mylar to a librarian, who will return it to the facility with an escort from the Metropolitan Police. , according to the library.
The Library of Congress adds that it often provides a variety of Bibles and other religious texts for lawmakers to use when taking the oath of office. Previously, special requests included President Barack Obama’s request for President Abraham Lincoln’s use of the Bible and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s request for use of the Biblia Hebraica, the Hebrew Bible. The first complete version to be published in the United States. Politicians have also used the US Constitution and state constitutions to take oaths.
