Wow. Typical politics of fear. Amazing that the council would waste their time on something as purposely divisive as this just to cater to a paranoid, xenophobic minority in the county. This should not be forced upon people. If someone decides to come here and doesn't learn the language, they will pay for it in the end with lack of opportunities, etc. Different dialects and languages can and will enhance our culture. In Mexico, in addition to Spanish, people speak Maya, Nahuatl, Tarahumara, Zapotec and Otomi to name a few. In the British Isles, people speak Welsh, Gaelic, and regional dialects such as Scottish and Cockney. Instead of fearing culture, try to open your mind and embrace it. What an interesting educational opportunity to go to South Florida and hear english spoken with a hispanic accent and spanish words thrown in the mix. Our country is based upon multiculturism and was founded by immigrants. As a caucasian who is 50% Irish, I welcome multiculturism in our county. Mr. Walker, Ladd, Grasso, and Fink are being shortsighted, fearful, little men by introducing such a divisive and useless bill.

The bill specifically states, "Bill 13-12 would make English the official language of Anne Arundel County for all official documents, communications and agreements on behalf of the county". It appears to be focused on official business documents in this county. Doesn't state people can't come to the county and speak their language. I don't see what is so divisive about this.

Councilman Jerry Walker need to stop wasting our $ and check out the emergency state of affairs in the county. jobs and homes are being lost and he is wasting money on useless B.S. that does nothing for the struggling residence that he is apparently sapose to be representing! Google translate your documents and move on to more important topics at hand

Worthless and petty.

Hatemongers as usual. Drum up the conservative base with meaningless legislation that wastes time. If this bill passes consider boycotting GREENE TURTLE restaurants as Derek Fink (one of the main backers) is an owner. I bet he hires the same immigrants he wants to punish.

"“Guess what? You came to America, and the official language is English, and you will blend with everybody else. We’re not going to change our world to suit you. You will learn to suit to the country,” Grasso said."

Guess what, Grasso? You're wrong! The official language is not English.

Since when are official county documents in anything but English anyway? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't notice any rampant bilingualism around here.

By the way, what kind of county council member talks like that: "Guess what!"? Are we in middle school now?

My faith in people has been restored by all of those speaking out against Jerry Walker's proposed bill. It's hard to understand how others can't see just how divisive this kind of legislation is. It's good to know that so many people don't share Walker and Grasso's views.

In the studies I read, the adoption of English by first generation immigrants today is the same as in our history. When immigrant peoples came to this country to work in the coal mines and in the steel mills, farms and other industries, they retained their native language and it wasn't until the second generation when English became the native language. My great-grandparents are a great example. When they moved to the US from Germany, they never learned English. Their children were the translators. "Guess what?" I don't speak German.

In the article in The Capital (2/7/12) about this, "Walker acknowledged that the bill probably won't lead to drastic changes." These are business people? I don't want my government officials doing things that really don't matter ... except to those who are struggling the most.

I believe this should be taken care of at the Federal level, not the State or County level. I have long been for "English" being our national language. I believe if you want to pass a drivers test you must be able to do it in English. I believe all court documents must be written in English, obviously if someone does not speak English in a court trial a translator should be provided.

It was clear by our founding fathers that English was the national language. After all, how many copies of the magna carta, declaration of independence, constitution, or bill of rights where translated into other languages by their authors?

I'm not sure this is the best thing for a county official to take on, but, I'm sure there are enough people like myself that believe English is our national language where he feels obligated to represent his community.

Why does this need to be done in the first place? Isn't it already the official language? What else would it be???

I'm just wondering, where are all the complainers about government over-regulation and over-codification. Shouldn't they be concerned about the passing of these additional rules that businesses will have to follow. It would be unfounate to have your non-english speaking employees trying to fill out english paperwork.

Below are the email addresses of the council. Drop them a note and put your position in the subject. Rarely does the body of the email get read, and if so, it is usually read by an aide.
james.benoit@aacounty.org
ctrumbauer@aacounty.org;
jerry.walker@aacounty.org
john.grasso@aacounty.org;
dfink@aacounty.org;
dladd@aacounty.org;

All these comments make me think of how diverse this country is getting and catering to all people, while diversity sounds great it also divides and it would be nice if all of us could come together and have something in common like being proud of speaking a great language like english and being american!

Let me compliment everyone on their civility in discussing this polarizing topic. The website below is a great source for the pro and con arguments related to English as an official language. Ultimately, two points stand out to reaffirm the argument that there is no need to address this at the county government level. One, there are no federal laws requiring English as an official language and two, state and local governments risk violating Constitutional rights when they impose language legislation. Let's ask our county council to work for more important goals.

http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_English_as_US_official_language

I'm fine with other people not learning English, but I'm not ok with specific state institutions, such as the MVA, allowing people to obtain motor vehicle licenses and yet not being able to speak more than just a few words in English. If this bill does not address those types of problems in our society then what is the point.

I also believe that English is the one thing that every American has in common. White, Black, Brown, Green, Red, Yellow, Purple, it doesn't matter what color you are, it doesn't matter what religion you follow, in the United States English helps keep us a single country. Look at the division that Canada has had over French speaking Quebec. We do not need that type of division here in the United States.

The government only wants rich people immigrating to our country. Which makes complete sense because I don't want my tax dollars going to support non-US citizens on welfare and food stamps. If you want the government to make it a $250 flat rate fee then you can send some of your tax dollars to subsidize the Immigration Branch of Homeland Security. I say keep the fees high. Also it takes a long time because they have to do background criminal checks on incoming immigrants. Why do you want immigrants taking jobs away from American citizens??

This bill is likely unconstitutional because 1) it is being supported for the purpose of discriminating on the basis of national origin (because the proponents have admitted that the purpose is to "send a message") 2) It is not narrowly tailored to a compelling state interest (because even if having everyone speak only English is a compelling state interest this is much better achieved by supporting English classes and ESOL).

Now, the county is going to waste resources to pass an ineffective bill that they have to spend more money on defending in court. The only message that this sends is that they are a bunch of idiots that do not have the intelligence to make good public policy.