State Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Fairfield, has said he will introduce his Ohio English Unity Act, which would require state agencies to produce records only in English by the end of the year. Combs believes society has been “coddling” Spanish-speakers for too long so they won’t learn English. Julia Arbini Carbonell, president of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition, said the legislation disrespects immigrants. She calls it "a bill about intolerance." [Cleveland.com]
Does this really make any sense? Let's look at some statistics comparing Ohio to the nation (Ohio figures in yellow):
White persons: 85% / 75%
Asians: 1.6% / 3.6%
Hispanics: 2% / 12.5%
Foreign-born persons: 3% / 11%
Language other than English spoken at home: 6% / 18%
Minority-owned enterprises (1997): 6.3% / 14.6%
Clearly, Ohio should not be ground zero for xenophobia. Furthermore, it is well known that immigrants are good for economic growth. A steady influx of immigrants means a steady infusion of human capital. That grows economies, something Mr. Coombs should be well aware of as a member of both the Commerce & Labor and Economic Workforce & Environment committees.
There is also another reason Mr. Combs gets recognition for cephalocolonoscopia: the GOP is making a concerted effort to bring in Latinos into the Party, and he's pretty much shooting his party in the foot with this kind of idiotic right-wing grandstanding.
Somebody send Mr. Combs to Toronto for a weekend so he can experience a better melting pot than Hamilton or Fairfield.
Mr. Combs has sponsored 3 other bills this year: HB209, a bill to allow nonprofits to sell booze; HB303, a bill to designate the children's book Lentil as the official children's book of the state and its author as the official children's book author of the state; and HB313, which modifies the sentence an offender receives under the Sexually Violent Predator Law so that any person who is sentenced under this law (and who is not sentenced to death) must receive a term of life imprisonment without parole.
Interesting guy.
1 comment:
What does Courtney think will happen if the bills passes? Everytime someone who doesn't know English needs to access records, they will bring their own translator?
This will play hell on the departments that oversee the records. All morality aside, it's cheaper just to provide a quick translation than to bog down their offices.
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