NASHVILLE WINS

Photo of Nashville Parthenon © Chris Wage. Used with permission. http://www.chriswage.com

Voters side with two mayors, new Council to defeat English Only

An English Only proposal was defeated Thursday night in Nashville after over 40,000 voters stood up in opposition to the measure.  The rejection aligns Nashville’s voters with the current Metro Council, current Mayor Karl Dean, and Dean’s predecessor Bill Purcell.

Former Mayor Bill Purcell vetoed a similar measure when it came across his desk in 2007; current Mayor Karl Dean has vigorously opposed this year’s version; and the current Metro Council passed a resolution by a 3-1 margin urging Nashville voters not to sign the petition putting the measure on the ballot in the first place.

English Only was defeated tonight by a margin of 57-43%.  Amendment #2 failed by an even larger margin.  An unprecedented, citywide coalition formed in opposition to both measures.

Advertisement

Deluge of opposition to English Only

Image by Alexandre Duret-Lutz. Licensed via Creative Commons.

Even with approximately 70 posts to date, this blog has not reproduced all of the written opposition to English Only in Nashville, nor could it ever.  Because today is the day of the special election and the last day to vote, however, the best we can do with the “waiting list” of those comments, letters, columns, blog posts, other statements of support, and news that have so far gone unpublished here is to link to as much of them as we can in list form below.

Our apologies to those whose public statements and endorsements have not been included here – and there are many of you.  We know that everyone who has spoken out against the charter amendments in any context is a part of this effort.

Thank you!

Katherine Coble: “I don’t get this tea party version of America”

Katherine Coble

Katherine Coble explains her opposition to English Only in this post.  Here is an excerpt:

I don’t quite get this tea party version of America some people have, where we have to have dress codes and codes of conduct that limit the individuality and freedom of citizens. I don’t get this version of America where some people think the things they like and enjoy should become codified while the things other people like and enjoy should become illegal. “America” doesn’t mean “I should get to boss you around because I was here first/have more money.” “America” means that you get to enjoy the pursuit of happiness through most means.

Hat tip: Kleinheider