This weekend I listened to an NPR show called, I believe, Left Right and Center (LRC) and they were talking about the recent Arizona law that was passed on illegal immigration. Only one of the three people that were speaking during the show had said that he had actually read the law! This flat out amazed me! How many “political pundits” and politicians that are crying foul have actually done the same? I would wager that amount is fairly low. Then I realized that by default, I was siding with the gentleman that had stated he had actually read the law. That realization, coupled with the other gentleman’s inciting and outright nasty tone and demeanor just angered me so greatly. How can someone whom has never even read a law speak to whether or not it’s constitutional or to the impact it may or may not have? It just disgusts me, almost as much as the traditional news media and outlets fanning the flames of paranoia and ignorance.
So what was I, myself a slightly paranoid geek, to do? Well, I did something most people wouldn’t EVER think of. I actually went and read the law that everyone’s talking about! Holy Hell Batman, someone that actually goes and learns something firsthand instead of blindly believing what others say!! Believe it or not folks, it was fairly easy to find. The state of Arizona even made it into a nicely formatted pdf file for download and viewing. Within the Arizona legislature, it’s actually called Senate Bill 1070 (SB1070).
After I read through the entire bill, I can’t believe people are making such a huge deal over this. According to this law, assuming I didn’t miss anything, police CANNOT simply stop someone and ask for papers. This is along the same lines as police not being able to stop someone and demand ID. What they CAN do is ask for documentation once LAWFUL CONTACT has occurred, meaning that if they have already stopped you for a traffic violation or something, they can ask for documentation “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made”. (There are a lot more sections within the bill that are dedicated to employing illegal immigrants knowingly that I have mixed feelings on as well.) I fail to see how this is a Constitutional issue. No one’s rights are being infringed upon. And, let me state this clearly and concisely; I have no problem with legal immigrants or international workers or students here legally. None whatsoever.
As to the argument that Arizona is overstepping it’s bounds with it’s state laws and that immigration is only the realm of the federal government, I call bullshit. There is nothing anywhere that I have ever seen or read to date that explicitly says a state cannot make it’s own laws in regards as to whom can enter its own borders or how to handle such situations. As long as the law passed does not contradict existing laws, where is the issue? Here it functions with established federal law and even calls upon the United States Code for how to verify and handle those found to be here illegally. It is my understanding that this is very similar to how the European community has handled travel for decades without issue. You get pulled over, you get asked for your papers. This is standard practice the world over for the most part. What’s the big deal?
In reality the real issue is law enforcement. If people are worried about HOW this law is going to be enforced, then take a good hard look at your law enforcement agencies. If they use racial profiling, then correct the issue within that department. Fire people. Arrest them. Here’s an idea, HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS! In years past, police were respected and held to a higher standard. Now many police officers aren’t even held accountable. Don’t get me wrong, I like most law enforcement officers that I have met. A close relative of mine is a private police officer. They perform a dangerous and invaluable job. I support them, usually. But most law enforcement are not held accountable for their actions unless someone is injured or some instance makes it to the news. Many of the police that I have met weren’t even aware that they were breaking laws in an effort to enforce other laws! The general thinking is along the lines of, arrest you first, and let the lawyers figure it out later.
Basically folks, it all comes down to something that seems to be severely lacking across the nation of late; common sense. If we would all stop for a moment, take a look at what is actually going on and think for ourselves and use that (not-so-common-anymore) common sense, so much time, money, and energy could instead be used to, I don’t know, actually fix important things. Like financial issues and corrupt business practices and such. And, by the way, I would just like to say that the Arizona Senate has done an excellent job in writing SB 1070 in that it is very clear, concise, and easily understandable. Keep up the good work on that front folks!
Honestly I am more concerned about the Terry Childs case in California. It scares the bejeezus out of me in so many ways. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go look it up and do some research.
Anyway, I’m out, got some actual work to do. Keep on keepin’ on.
Chiron
Ah! Good times, good times. Seriously though, it’s always a good time out there. There’s usually tons of various different types of military surplus equipment, rare and unusual electronic components, radio gear, tons of computers and servers, satellite equipment, batteries, antenna’s, and everything else under the sun. With Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Research Labs being right across town theirs always tons of cool military types and geeks around to boot. Speaking of which brings me to one of the cooler things I saw out there:
