Hall before 300 ticketed guests. On October 30, 2013, President Barack Obama delivered a defense of the Affordable Care Act from the same spot where Romney signed his state's expansion of healthcare in 2006. On November 2, 2014, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino lay in state at Faneuil Hall following his death on October 30, 2014. The headquarters of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts has been in Faneuil Hall since 1746, currently on the 4th floor. It is also still used for political debates between Massachusetts candidates as well as political shows, such as The O'Reilly Factor. Name Faneuil is a French name, and is anglicized as or . In Colonial times, it may have been pronounced as in funnel. Peter Faneuil's gravestone is marked "P. Funel." However, the inscription was added long after his burial; the stone originally displayed only the Faneuil family crest, not his surname. In his 1825 novel Lionel Lincoln, James Fenimore Cooper used eye dialect for Bostonian characters to indicate that they pronounced it Funnel Hall. Boston area locals often use the term Faneuil to refer to the entire surrounding neighborhood, particularly as a landmark for its vibrant nightlife. In August 2017, amid heightened media coverage of the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, the activist group New Democracy Coalition proposed that Faneuil Hall's name be changed because of Peter Faneuil's participation in the slave trade. In response to the proposal, Boston mayor Marty Walsh stated: "We are not going to change the name of Faneuil Hall". Many protests have been a result of the push for a name change, including activists chaining themselves to the front door and a sit-in. Building elements Bell The bell was repaired in 2007 by spraying the frozen clapper with WD-40 over the course of a week and attaching a rope. Prior to this repair, the last known ringing of the bell with its clapper was at the end of World War II, in 1945, though it had since been rung several times by striking with a mallet. Grasshopper weather vane The gilded grasshopper weather vane on top of the building was created by Deacon Shem Drowne in 1742. Gilded with gold leaf, the copper weather vane weighs and is long. The weather vane is believed to be modeled after the grasshopper weather vane on the London Royal Exchange, based upon the family crest of Thomas Gresham.