A Californian legislator wants to remove the statue of what he calls a "controversial" figure in Californian history in the US Capitol and replace it with the statue of a California-born astronaut.

According to the Catholic News Agency, California State Senator Ricardo Lara proposed to remove Fr Junipero Serra's statue in the Capitol and replace it with a statue of astronaut Sally Ride.

According to the Los Angeles Times , such a move would in his view "recognise the invaluable contributions of an accomplished Californian and American pioneer: Dr Sally Ride."

Dr Ride, who died in 2012, was the first American woman in space.

Ride's partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, expressed support for the proposal. She said that Ride was a role model to "underrepresented" groups, mainly women working in scientific fields and the LGBT community.

"What has been missing in many programmes around the country is diverse role models in science and engineering," O'Shaughnessy told the Los Angeles Times.

"Having Sally's image turned into a statue in our nation's Capitol - that's an important message. It has a chance to be an inspiration to young people the world over," she concluded.

Lara's proposal is not without criticisms.

"I certainly wouldn't endorse it," author and Serra historian Monsignor Francis J Weber told ACN. 

Fr Junipero Serra was a Majorcan-born missionary, one of the many who went to the New World to spread Christianity. He succeeded in converting native Californians to Christianity, but he also imparted important technology that helped the budding cities in the state. 

Msgr Weber said that Fr Serra played a pivotal role in California's history, particularly when he established the missions that eventually became major cities in the Golden State. The priest also credited Fr Serra in laying the foundation of California, saying that the California today is "what he started it out to be." 

Msgr. Weber told ACN that there is no truth to the accusations of forced conversion against Fr Serra.

"There's not a single case I've ever studied, and I've been around for a long time, where any missionary ever forced any Indian to become a Catholic," he said.