I've been wanting to write this post for weeks now. As a citizen of Arizona, this law effects me personally, and I do get a little annoyed when people who don't live here have such a strong opinion. Conservative television hosts for one. I have been in a thousand arguments with a thousand people (it seems), and none of them really seem to even have the slightest clue what the law says and does.
I am just going to talk about why this law dies soon in the future. Pretend I am a hardcore tea-party dude, or pretend I am Al Sharpton. I don't care. The article should read the same to you. Don't let Glenn pull us apart!
Many conservative friends have told me that this "has always been the law" and Arizona is just doing what they are supposed to be doing "federally" anyway. (My same friends are always against "federal" stuff, usually... Go figure, huh?)
Well, that's wrong. This law states that any "suspected" person in Arizona is assumed to be an illegal, unless they have papers to prove otherwise. And police must enforce the law or they can be personally sued. Which federal law did Rush or Glenn or whomever else tell you this is "the same as"?
Mr. and Mrs. American citizen, when have you had your "papers checked"? By this law that conservative pundits are saying has been there "all along?" Come on now. Let's all be honest with each other.
So during one argument, I told a group of three gentleman that they were right. I agreed with them. Then I asked that they show me their papers. What do you mean? They looked at me like I was crazy.
I said, "Well, you just told me the law isn't racist and doesn't target Mexicans, so that means you boys should be checked also. You should be carrying your papers, since you support the 'show me your papers' law. Right?"
Interestingly, this argument always seems to shut everything down. They became a bit confused, not wanting to trip over their own argument-- we were having a pint of beer at the time, so cut them some slack there-- and I just started to push them.
I pushed them and pushed them and eventually got them to admit, the best way to enforce the law-- and really make some headway in Arizona-- is to go after Mexicans.
And that is going to prove to be an enormous legal problem. (Involving the U.S. Constitution. Shhhh!)
But here's the thing: I don't think anybody should be worked up about this other than conservatives, who don't like wasting tax dollars, and are going to look foolish when court after court strikes it down. And it costs millions to defend, even though it'll never fly. If you're a Hispanic in Arizona, don't sweat it one bit. This thing is going to die quickly. It's broken on it's very surface.
Here are three possible outcomes of the new law:
1. The law is not at all racist, so police just start checking people (almost) randomly. They hassle everybody from Minnesota (because you know y'all sound like Canadians); and they hassle the cute English girl up at my local pub. People like me and the three guys I spoke of earlier-- and probably you, reading this article-- just might get arrested. If nothing else, because you're not used to having to carry around "papers" in America. We're kind of used to freedom that way.
As soon as American citizens start to get arrested-- the law dies. If nothing else because of all the lawsuits. Out of principal, because you've destroyed the constitutional rights of Americans. The minute they arrest a whole bunch of American-Mexicans, they just deprived a whole bunch of Americans their rights-- and even though some people don't get this-- Americans, who used to be Mexicans-- are still Americans. Look closely at the next group photo of American soldiers in Iraq.
2. They only arrest Hispanics. That would make sense. I mean, most illegals that are here are Hispanic, but in my city, there are plenty of Canadian and Chinese illegals too (not many, but I know of some.) Most are Hispanic; I get that. But if they don't start bustin' up Chinese restaurants and stopping guys in Gretzy jerseys, it's gonna be all about el moreno. Once the law demonstrates that it discriminatory, just by nature of the way it is carried out: The law dies. Supreme court has ruled on this issue before and you just can't do it.
3. Jan Brewer develops a horrifying future in which we ALL must have our papers at all times, where we can be stopped and questioned and possibly arrested. At any time we can be stopped and demanded of to "Zeigen Sse mir ihre papiere!" Shoot. I mean, "Show me your papers." Is that an America you want to live in? Where American citizens can be hauled off to jail?
Yeah. Me neither. The law will die. Probably, tomorrow, when President Obama meets with Jan Brewer and talks about how he is going to sue her. Probably ends tomorrow... Then everybody can go back to talking about more sane and logical issues, like secession.
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