In case anyone's been living under a rock for the past few weeks, the Arizona immigration bill has caused quite a stir. If you pay any attention to the lamestream news, it seems Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer and Sarah Palin (scroll down see her speak on the bill) are alone in supporting it. Suddenly everyone thinks that Arizona hates Mexicans.
But nobody's even read it. Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, didn't bother reading it. Attorney General Eric Holder, whose job is to advise the President on legal matters like this one, admitted to not having read it. And judging by his recent comments, even our own President hasn't read it.
Erroneous news reports are being cited over and over until finally they have become, in the public's eye, the truth.
But this bill is not what people are saying it is. (And yes, I have read it myself.)
Here’s the gist: If you’re pulled over by the cops for a traffic violation or other offense, they can ask you to prove that you are in fact a citizen of these United States. Which pretty much makes sense anyway.
It’s exactly like the federal law. And there are no civil rights violations. You can’t get pulled over just for looking Hispanic on your way to get some ice cream, as President Obama oh-so-tactfully put it. In fact, it states rather explicitly that your immigration status may be checked if you are already suspected of committing a public offense. You cannot be pulled over because of your apparent ethnic origin.
If you don’t believe me, you can read the bill for yourself here. The entire thing's only 13 pages.
SB 1070 does not infringe upon anyone's rights, and Arizona is correct in implementing it.
If we can’t ask people from other countries to respect the law, how can we expect our own citizens to?
See Sarah Palin speak on the bill:
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