http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2007/ ... 14529.html

Jan. 17, 2007

COMMUNITY VIEWPOINT
It's time -- Make English official
By SHARRON ANGLE, BOB BEERS and DON GUSTAVSON

It's difficult to be a visionary in a world of lemmings embracing the status quo. Too often, politicians "go along to get along" and refuse to stray from the herd.

Don Gustavson, a conservative former legislator, ignored "political correctness" in 1997 when he introduced a bill designating English as the official language of the State of Nevada. One decade later, Assemblywoman Sharron Angle resurrected Gustavson's measure due to the overwhelming requests of Nevadans she met while campaigning for federal office.

Sen. Bob Beers also heard the same consensus from voters while campaigning for state office. Beers will introduce Angle's bill, and work to convince the 2007 legislature that the time is overdue for passing this tax-saving measure. His introduction will be at negligible cost to taxpayers because the legal drafting was done in 1997.

The bill's content requires all official proceedings, records and publications of the state of Nevada be conducted, printed and available in English. The bill also protects jobs by requiring that government officers must not discriminate or discharge or refuse to hire because of inability to converse in languages other than English.

Also, state agencies are required to record expenditures for providing services in languages other than English. And as a protective measure against frivolous liability lawsuits filed by those who promote wholesale access to the state coffers, no court in Nevada will have jurisdiction to hear a claim that is based solely on failure to provide copies of statures, regulations or other documents in languages other than English.

The bill provides for certain exceptions, such as state employees who need to conduct official business orally or for instructional courses that teach a foreign language or train students with limited English proficiency. There are also exceptions made where exclusive use of the English language would interfere with the judicial system and pubic health and safety or the promotion of tourism and international trade.

Here in America, the English language has been disregarded in deference to political correctness. Why do politicians disobey the will of their constituents and discourage immigrants from learning English? The demagoguery of English as racial bigotry must stop because such behavior only promotes disunity. Knowledge of the English language is power against downgrading immigrants to a servant class.

A system so excessively accommodating to immigrants that it removes any incentive to learn English ultimately limits these workers to low-skilled, low-paying jobs. English is the global language of business, higher education, diplomacy, aviation and science. Most developing nations recognize English as the doorway to the world economy and require their children to learn English in school.

The Angle/Beers BDR breaks down ethnic class barriers while saving taxpayers' money. There are 28 states that have made English their official language either legislatively or by initiative. More than 90 percent (177) of the world's nations have enacted an official language.

English is the most common official language on Earth. Immigrants themselves have cited language as the greatest barrier that keeps them from succeeding in the United States. It's time to make English the official language of Nevada.