Date:  Wed, 12 Jul 1995 10:24:29 -0400

From:  "William A. Kretzschmar, Jr." <billk[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ATLAS.UGA.EDU>

Subject: Re: English-only Amendments



Here in Georgia this past year the Legislature did pass an English as

Official Language bill. It was sold as a money-saving measure, so that

ballots and other public documents would only have to be printed in

English. There was a huge uproar, from the usual places but also because

many people claimed that it would be a horrible sign of unfriendliness

just before the Olympics camme here in 1996. There were also prominent

supporters, including the most influential political commentator in the

state (he thought that if his foreign-born wife could learn English, every

other immigrant should also be able to). In the end Governor Zell Miller

(sometime buddy of Bill Clinton) vetoed the bill, not as a matter of

principle but because of a technical problem that his staff found with the

language of the law.



Regards, Bill

******************************************************************************

Bill Kretzschmar         Phone:  706-542-2246

Dept. of English (Park 317)   FAX:   706-542-2181

University of Georgia      Internet: billk[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]atlas.uga.edu

Athens, GA 30602-6205      Atlas Web Page: http://hyde.park.uga.edu