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English Only suit to be heard Thursday
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 1:51am
English Only advocates will have their day in court Thursday in an effort to get their charter amendment proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman will hear the suit filed by English Only supporters in response to the Election Commission’s decision last week to not put the amendment proposal on the ballot.
English Only began as a ballot initiative to put a charter amendment proposal before the people that would explicitly say Metro business is only conducted in English. The proposal also states individuals have no right to services in any language besides English.
The proposal was blasted by Mayor Karl Dean, as Metro Council also passed a resolution encouraging voters to oppose it.
Eventually, English Only, which was primarily financed by a national advocacy group and pushed by Bellevue Councilman Eric Crafton, earned the necessary 10,103 signatures required to make it onto the November ballot.
Opponents believed the proposal shouldn’t qualify for the November ballot because of wording in the Metro charter, which says petition-driven amendments may only be submitted once in each two years.
Metro Director of Law Sue Cain wrote an opinion stating English Only shouldn’t qualify for the upcoming election because it fell short of the required two-year waiting period by three days. The previous petition-driven charter amendment was passed Nov. 7, 2006.
The Davidson County Election Commission voted 3-2 to not put the measure on the ballot, which caused the English Only advocates to sue.
The lawsuit called for an expedited hearing, which was granted.
Jon Crisp, one of the advocates for English Only, told NashvillePost.com last week the group would appeal to the state Supreme Court if it lost in Chancery Court Thursday.
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Filed under: City News
This needs to go to Federal Court if necessary. It is our government not theirs.
Uh, it is not a “federal issue”.
"The previous petition-driven charter amendment was passed Nov. 4, 2006"Get your facts straight Nate. It passed on Nov. 7. That would make up for the 3 day difference now wouldn't it. Are you being bought off too ?Hey, Sue Cain. All's fair when you get what you want, right ?!?
Pandabear is correct.
who is paying crisp and the rest to bring this to court?
I will. :-) On behalf of my 5 children, gladly. And Mr. Crisp, even though my husband holds bad feelings towards you, I'll be there at court for support for this matter. It's THEIR future and mine.
Didn't you say you hired illegals girlie? Would you be in favor of this so you can understand the man mowing your lawn?
the language of love is universal, g.
gg will be the fat one with flags painted on her fingernails...
quirk & quack are back with name calling & insults! Nothing informative, just junk.
Barfly, you should get them out of your ear!
THANK YOU Jon Crisp and Eric Crafton for not giving up! I am amazed how many are willing to turn their back on what is an obvious attempt to stymie getting this to a public referendum. If it were for anything else more politically correct or served the Democratic or Liberal agenda, most of you would be screaming at the top of your lungs for justice. Instead, people cry racism or call us rednecks or stupid for wanting our voices heard. LET THE PEOPLE CHOOSE! NOT THE GOVERNMENT. It's that simple.
knight, English Only will not accomplish anything. holding employers accountable for hiring illegal aliens will. English Only is a waste of time and effort.
No nazi hiring translators/bi linguals is a waste of money and discriminatory against citizens.
not if they are here legally. not everyone who takes an ESL class is an illegal alien.
bet most of them are
but you certainly don't know that as fact, therefore it is simply speculation. and you're biased.
I think both will benefit the budget: First of all holding employers accountable is a good idea. It's being done in some parts of the U.S. Secondly, cutting off the "perks" such as paid for translators. And cutting off such things as free rent, free food and benefits which should go to only the people who have "paid in" to the piggy bank. I'm all for generosity, but I don't want my tax dollars spent on charity. I want the churches and fund raisers to cover that part. I want taxes to go to good highways, security, schools, ports and railways, and other infrastructure which benefits the greater good. If a special interest group receives the benefits such as translators, it does not benefit the greater amount of society.
sidney, i also agree that they do not need all the benefits that they receive. however, English Only is still asinine.
This issue has brought out the worst of Nashville! I'm sorry to see the city I was born and raised in get to this point . I wish Crafton had stayed where he was and never heard of Nashville much less the city council! It will be a better day when he is out of office and all that think like him too.
nazi - You are speculating, also! However, being active in schools & acquainted with many teachers, id is a lot closer to the truth.English only is a good start for raising the bar and a good start for "If you want to live here, strive to fit in & learn English".Eastwatcher - the worst of Nashville, is people like you that can't see the writing on the wall. Illegals do not belong and why should taxpayers keep striving to make them feel welcome & footing their many, many charity hand outs?
Barfly, backing id, doesn’t lend anything to your arguments. He is an “idiot”. All you have done is say the same thing he did, in a rearranged sentence. Is that your example of a post with substances? Yeah, thought so.
if you go after the empolyers you won't have many illegal aliens, therefore the people in the class will be here legally. English is a difficult language and is not easily learned. I mean, look at id. It's his native tongue and he still hasn't mastered it.
EASTWATCHER, What makes you think Crafton is going anywhere? He WAS elected by his constituents in a hard-fought election. He's not the most likable guy, but there is no doubt where he stands on things. Just because a few here on a message board don't like his opinions and beliefs doesn't make you right and him wrong. We elected him. We like him right where he is. And I wouldn't be surprised that other parts of Nashville are just as supportive of him and his efforts to make Nashville English Only (not allowing other languages!). Whether you like it or not, there is a substantial conservative base in this town. Don't hate us because we think differently than you do.
There is a BIG difference between thinking differently and not thinking at all. Once you learn to think, “Sirry”, you will be viable.
If you want to know how English only affects the classrooms in Metro ask a teacher. They will tell you it is a challenge to have illegals in their rooms. It takes away from the other students learning.
And if anybody knows, idiot-2 knows, that EVERY foreign child in the classroom is illegal, ‘cause he asked idiot-1 and he told him so.
That's because, idiot-1 on this board always agrees with idiot-2! Isn't that right quirk & quack?
No lu-lu>> it must have been you saying that. I have spoke with several teachers in Metro and they all said it is a draw back for the other students. But you don't want anyone to learn anything in school, because if they were to learn anything, ti would put them ahead of you.
You should know barfly, you fit the bill just fine for idiot 3.
Idiot 2, I am afraid to even ask this, but do you even have children in school? Do you even know where children come from? That is what I thought.
lu-lu>> you don't realize how refreshing to know that I can piss you off so and make you lose your cool. So have a round of fritters and get your diaper changed , take your prozac and get a nap.
Think what you need to “idiot 2”. The only thing that pisses me off is having you claim that you are from Tennessee, or even America, for that matter.
The main purpose of the bill is to send a message to those in charge that the people are tired of it.
2476 you are absolutely correct when you talk about the distractions in the classroom, but you can't tell these blank walls anything. There is an element of ignorance that transcends all logic when people are holding on to ideals only. Ideally we should all get along and not care whether or not anyone speaks the language of the land. But from a realistic point of view, it makes for better communication and harmony if we all can stand on some common ground. What better place to start breaking down barriers than to all speak on the same page? Again I'll say that I understand the legal immigrant plight. BUT I do not wish to participate in anything illegal, including sneaking across the border illegally. That's crossing boundaries way too far and they spit in our faces when we try to get them to do the right thing.
Crafton is the Byron Looper of Nashville. All show and no brains. Hopefully he will never follow the same tragic path as his kindred spirit.And Crispy is the Karl Rove of Nashville. The puppetmaster behind the idiot. The user of time-wasting wedge issues to get the Floyd R. Turbo goober vote to the polls. The imperious, offended gasbag when things don't go his way.Hopefully one more election cycle and these clowns will be gone from the Nashville political scene.
I am wondering if 'Sir Knight' is actually Crispy. It would not surprised me to find that he parades in front of a mirror in armor, parrying sword thrusts at pictures of Mexicans.