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(Re--al 62A, c LA_ (42f /1,, City Council Meeting — June 28, 2010 Open Mike Presenter: Ivy Cavegn, 311 Linda Lane, Lino Lakes Topic: Lino Lakes English Only Proposal There have been press reports of an English Only proposal for the City of Lino Lakes based on budgetary concerns. The Quad Community Press, in its June 22, 2010 edition, stated that documents circulated by city staff state that "30 states and 19 cities have declared English as an official language. However, to clarify, only 16 states have enacted laws stating they are "English Only." "Official language" states do not ban the use of non - English languages in their official government communications. In fact, the United States has never had an official national language -- and throughout its history many languages have been spoken along with English. The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781, which was the first US Constitution, was written in both English and German. In the early 1800s there were several groups pushing to give German equality with English in all published government documents'. Though many citizens feel strongly that the government should establish English as the official language of the United States, other Americans believe that linguistic diversity is a key aspect of our heritage and that English -only laws are motivated by fear and by false stereotypes about non - native speakers However, I'll limit my comments this evening to the economics of "English Only" laws, as this is the stated rationale for the proposal. Economic Ramifications Legally: • Most of the government bodies that have enacted an "English only" law have been or currently are in legal battles based on several factors: o "English only" laws are inconsistent with Section 1 of the 14t'' Amendment which guarantees its legal residents equal protection under the law. Laws that eliminate courtroom interpreters, bi- lingual ballots, access to legal documents or information, or bilingual classroom instruction violate the rights guaranteed in the 14th Amendment. Denying equal educational opportunities is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. o Naturalization for US citizenship does not require English literacy for people over 50, or people who have been in the US for over 20 years. "English only" laws deny our older citizens their voting rights because they would not unable to read ballots in their own language or be informed of current community issues being voted upon. o Freedom of speech, freedom of press and political freedom can only occur when people have free access to information. The councilman making this proposal Article by Karl J.R. Arndt, THE GERMAN LANGUAGE PRESS OF THE AMERICAS, vol. 3 (1980)