Thread: Enough Signatures Gathered To Put Jamiel's Law ...

... on the ballot in Los Angeles in March ... barely.


Friday was the day signatures had to be turned in by the Shaw Family, whose members have been madly scrambling to acquire the 74,000 plus necessary to place Jamiel's Law in front of L.A. voters, this coming Spring.

Apparently (I was working very hard early in the week and missed all of this), Anita Shaw (Jamiel's Mom) was interviewed on the Sean Hannity show a few days prior to the deadline.

As this was going on, a handful of border security activists from local groups (NMI, the MM and SOS) were helping the Shaws by going to supermarkets, Wal-Marts, libraries, and other places where the public gathers.

About 3 weeks ago the family was approx. 20K signatures short, but the last push (which included some work by prof. signature gatherers) was fast and furious, and the number acquired started to grow.

I saw Althea Shaw (Jamiel's Aunt) on the morning of the last day. She parked herself in front of a Denny's that was a couple blocks away from the city govt. building where the signatures needed to be submitted. I handed her my sheet which contained about 3 dozen, wished her luck, and went off to work.

It has since been reported on the Walter Moore mayoral candidacy website ( http://web.mac.com/waltermoore/WalterMo ... s_Law.html ) that just over 76,000 signatures were submitted to local govt. Everyone is sort of holding their breath because that leaves very little margin for error.

A few well-timed prayers would be helpful, folks. Some people from around the country generously donated money and some private individuals pitched in, but the reality is is that 75% of the heavy lifting was done by the grief stricken members of a working class Southern California family who just refused to let their son's death be in vain.

God bless them, petition signature gathering is hard work.

Dixie

Let us all pray that this effort succeeds and gets on the ballot.

It will win if it makes the ballot.

W

That's one small step for man and one giant leap for U.S. citizens!
Next, prune Sanctuary cities of illegals!!

Thats wonderful SZinWestLA God bless you and all who worked so hard!

My prayers are with you...it will pass !!

Its not easy getting anything done in Calif. with so many working against you guys. GOOD LUCK!

From the Los Angeles Times


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/polit ... 7594.story

Supporters Say They Have Enough Signatures To Get The Measure On The May Ballot


Supporters of a proposed Los Angeles voter initiative that would allow police to arrest illegal-immigrant gang members solely for being in the country illegally said they collected enough petition signatures before Friday's deadline to qualify the measure for the May ballot.

The signatures still need to be verified by the Los Angeles city clerk's office, a process that could take up to three weeks. Proponents, who needed to gather 73,963 signatures from valid registered voters in the city, said they had submitted more than 76,000.

Jamiel's Law, as it is known, is named after 17-year-old Los Angeles High School football player Jamiel Shaw II, who was gunned down in March allegedly by a reputed gang member who was in the country illegally. The measure would modify the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Order 40, which prohibits officers from initiating contact with individuals for the sole purpose of determining whether they are illegal immigrants.

Immigrant-rights advocates and LAPD Chief William J. Bratton strongly oppose Jamiel's Law, saying it is unnecessary and opens a backdoor to "racial profiling" by law enforcement. Bratton, when testifying before the City Council in April, said officers already have the authority to tell immigration authorities when known gang members have committed crimes.

Proponents dismiss critics as being more concerned with political correctness than public safety. They said the proposal is focused solely on gang members who have been documented as such by law enforcement agencies, and would allow them to be arrested, prosecuted and deported just for being illegal immigrants.

"The whole point of Jamiel's Law is that we shouldn't wait for the dead body. If you can't get a gang member for a crime -- and it's a crime to enter the country illegal -- get them for that," said the measure's author, mayoral candidate Walter Moore.

However, Father Richard Estrada, who does extensive work with immigrants and founded a shelter for young homeless men in Boyle Heights, said that any such measure would allow overzealous law enforcement officials to pull over male Latino drivers at will and would distract officers from the task of getting dangerous criminals off the streets.

"I hope they don't" get enough signatures," said Estrada, an associate pastor at the 189-year-old Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in downtown Los Angeles. "What are they going to do? Are they going to arrest all the immigrant kids who are gang members or look like it or are at the wrong place at the wrong time? We need officers to really go after the bad guys."

Supporters of Jamiel's Law had until 5 p.m. Friday to turn in petition signatures to the city clerk's office. City elections officials will count the signatures and conduct a sampling to determine if they are from valid registered voters who live within the city limits.

Jamiel Shaw's family has actively supported the measure, and was collecting signatures up until Friday's deadline.

"What makes me so sad is that we have to fight so hard just to report gang members who are in this country illegally," said Shaw's aunt, Althea Shaw, 47, of Los Angeles. "This is not about color. This is not about Latino versus black. It's about right and wrong, about life and death."

The alleged killer, Pedro Espinoza, awaits trial on a murder charge.

Thats great news! Thanks for all your hard work. I know it wasn't fun.

Immigrant-rights advocates and LAPD Chief William J. Bratton strongly oppose Jamiel's Law, saying it is unnecessary and opens a backdoor to "racial profiling" by law enforcement. Bratton, when testifying before the City Council in April, said officers already have the authority to tell immigration authorities when known gang members have committed crimes.

Proponents dismiss critics as being more concerned with political correctness than public safety. They said the proposal is focused solely on gang members who have been documented as such by law enforcement agencies, and would allow them to be arrested, prosecuted and deported just for being illegal immigrants.

"The whole point of Jamiel's Law is that we shouldn't wait for the dead body. If you can't get a gang member for a crime -- and it's a crime to enter the country illegal -- get them for that," said the measure's author, mayoral candidate Walter Moore.

However, Father Richard Estrada, who does extensive work with immigrants and founded a shelter for young homeless men in Boyle Heights, said that any such measure would allow overzealous law enforcement officials to pull over male Latino drivers at will and would distract officers from the task of getting dangerous criminals off the streets.

"I hope they don't" get enough signatures," said Estrada, an associate pastor at the 189-year-old Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in downtown Los Angeles. "What are they going to do? Are they going to arrest all the immigrant kids who are gang members or look like it or are at the wrong place at the wrong time? We need officers to really go after the bad guys."

This is why LA is such a cesspool. I am angry and shocked at the poor treatment of the Shaw family by the City of LA.

This is fantastic news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by SicNTiredInSoCal

This is why LA is such a cesspool. I am angry and shocked at the poor treatment of the Shaw family by the City of LA.

The Shaws are fellow Americans, that's why they are treated so badly in LA which is now a part of Mexico.