Editorial: Proposed ordinance a dud

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006 | 8:33 a.m.

Un-American local law proposed for Pahrump would set up an 'us versus them' mentality

Michael Miraglia, a member of the Pahrump Town Board, says he is just amazed that not everyone in Southern Nevada speaks English. He told Sun reporter Timothy Pratt about walking into a restaurant and asking for a napkin. "They said they didn't speak English. That really floored me," he said.

He also recalled other times when a language barrier prevented him from conversing with people in Pahrump. "How can we get along in this country?" he says.

The answer to that question is certainly not to be found in a local law that he has proposed. Called the "English Language and Patriot Reaffirmation Ordinance," his proposal calls for making English the official language of the growing town an hour's drive west of Las Vegas. So it would be against the law for anyone to try out their foreign language skills in public?

The ordinance would also prohibit people from flying a foreign flag by itself. So flying the Mexican flag alone for Cinco de Mayo celebrations would be a crime? How about the Irish flag alone in a St. Patrick's Day parade?

Additionally, the ordinance would make it illegal to take a day off from work to join a protest, such as the national walk in May that supported undocumented immigrants. So the Pahrump Town Board would be involved if an employee took a day off to join a march?

Not surprisingly, Miraglia said his proposal was inspired by what he has heard on talk radio shows and from what he has learned from anti-illegal immigration groups such as the Minutemen, whose members have been gathering on the Mexican border to barbecue hot dogs, build little fences, sit in lawn chairs with binoculars and give interviews to national TV anchors and radio hosts.

Immigration is a federal issue. Neither towns nor cities should be passing ordinances that violate the U.S. Constitution. Miraglia's time would be better spent learning Spanish.