State attempts discriminatory law

House Editorial

On April 10, 2005, state lawmakers in West Virginia voted to pass a bill concerning the number of members a city can appoint to the boards of parks and recreation. Two days later they learned exactly what they had passed — a bill with an amendment to make English the official language of West Virginia.

Unbeknownst to the majority of lawmakers in West Virginia, including House Majority Leader Democrat Rick Staton, this new and discriminatory amendment was inserted among details about record-keeping. Staton was unaware of the content of the amendment until he was questioned about the content by the Associated Press later that evening.

Since the early 1990s, some lawmakers in West Virginia have tried to pass an English-only law, but bills were surrounded by too much controversy to pass. This time, during the last night of the 60-day legislative session, Senate Majority Whip Billy Wayne Bailey told members that the amendment he was adding would simply clarify the way documents are produced. The amendment really added the provision that "English shall be the official language of West Virginia," according to CNN.

English-only law proponents say that forcing immigrants to learn English will give them the tools they need to succeed. In reality, making English the official language of a state would not help immigrants become assimilated into the culture, but rather it would increase discrimination against them. Immigrants’ right to vote and access to health care and public programs all could be hindered or denied because they would be unable to read or understand what was going on.

West Virginia’s population is 5 percent immigrants and, while that might not seem like very many, every person should be able to understand what is happening in their government. If non-English information were removed from voting sites — a possibility under an English-only act — non-English-speaking voters would be effectively disenfranchised, and that is not only immoral, but also unconstitutional.

Public programs and services are similar — if people don’t understand how to access public transportation, something as simple as a bus ride across a college campus could become a nightmare. Things become even more serious if a family that does not speak English is on welfare. They may end up not knowing when, where, or how to receive help from the government that is supposed to be advocating their rights.

The situation could become even graver if medical records are required to be kept in English. People may not even be able to understand the most basic information about their health or the health of their loved ones.

All citizens, regardless of their language, deserve equal access to the benefits of being Americans — those things listed above, as well as the ability to preserve their own culture and beliefs. A large part of culture is language, and no law should ever revoke a person’s right to his or her own culture.

Fortunately, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin did not sign the bill into law. He did not, however, stop it on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and discriminatory, but because it was added to the bill in a very sly manner and lawmakers were not clearly informed of the impact of what they were passing. Hopefully they will realize the impact of an English-only law on the residents of West Virginia and rethink their actions before knowingly considering the law again.