Friday, June 19, 2009
Equality opportunity debate rages
Arizona Star: With both sides throwing around charges of discrimination, the state House voted 32-18 Thursday to ask voters to outlaw affirmative action and other programs designed to help women and minorities. "How can we move beyond race if we allow our government to discriminate?" asked Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park. Montenegro, who is Hispanic, said the constitutional amendment he is pushing would ensure all Arizonans are competing fairly for government education, employment and contracts. Rep. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson, said the injustices of the past do not justify what he sees as continued discrimination against those who are not minorities. "That's what I think we need to get over in this country and put that terrible history behind us and establish a true level playing field, where everybody is finally the same, where nobody gets any special preference," he said. But Rep. Cloves Campbell, D-Phoenix, said his experience as an African-American convinces him discrimination still exists, and some preference programs HCR 2019 would outlaw remain necessary. And he chided proponents for saying that "everything's OK" in race equality. "The people who push this piece of legislation have had a great time eating the cherries off the tree of equal opportunity," Campbell said. "And now that their bellies are fat, they think it's time to throw away the tin and say that their bellies are full and we're ready to go home."
The measure, which now goes to the Senate, would make it illegal for the state or local governments to discriminate against any group or individual on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, education or contracting. That also includes the university and community college systems as well as public schools. It is modeled after a 1996 California initiative crafted by Ward Connerly, who was at the time a member of that state's Board of Regents. It arose from issues of whether more qualified white students were being denied admission to the state's university system to admit less-qualified minorities.
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