Untitled Document

ProEnglish Urges Democrats to Put Official English in Platform
Statement Blasts Silence as "Unconscionable in a Democracy"

ProEnglish
News Release
July 28, 2004

(Arlington, VA) The nation's leading advocates for official English today urged the Democratic Party to take a stand in favor of making English the official language of the United States. In a letter addressed to Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, ProEnglish Executive Director K.C. McAlpin urged McAuliffe to ask the Democratic delegates to the party's national convention to adopt a platform plank supporting official English. Thousands of signed petitions from ProEnglish members accompanied the letter.

The draft platform language currently being considered by the Democrats' national platform committee makes no mention of the subject.

"This is unconscionable in a democracy such as ours," McAlpin said in the letter. "Our country has thrived as the most successful multi-ethnic and pluralistic nation in the history of the world. But today the unprecedented immigration of non-English speaking immigrants threatens to unravel the linguistic and cultural unity of the United States."

"This might not be so serious if government and other institutions put the same emphasis on encouraging immigrants to learn English that was true in earlier times," McAlpin said. "But under pressure from special interest groups public policy leaders today are increasingly willing to abandon the melting pot ideal that has characterized American public policy in the past."

McAlpin noted that English is now the official language of twenty-seven states, and public opinion polls show the American public is overwhelmingly in favor of making it the nation's official language.

"As our country becomes more diverse due to immigration, preserving English as our common language becomes more, not less important to the future well being and unity of our nation," McAlpin added.

Other Press releases
ProEnglish's letter to Mr. McAuliffe


Activism Urge Congress to defend English Your Congressmen Current Legislation State Profiles Petition Issues Official English Bilingual Education English on the Job Citizenship and Immigration Bilingual Ballots Puerto Rican Statehood Ending E.O. 13166, the "Multilingual Mandate" Resources Model official English statute Backgrounders Pending legislation Census 2000 data Myths & Facts Poll Data Contact us: 1601 N. Kent St. Suite 1100 Arlington, VA 22209 ph: (703)816-8821		ProEnglish Urges Democrats to Put Official English in Platform Statement Blasts Silence as "Unconscionable in a Democracy" ProEnglish News Release July 28, 2004 (Arlington, VA) The nation's leading advocates for official English today urged the Democratic Party to take a stand in favor of making English the official language of the United States. In a letter addressed to Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, ProEnglish Executive Director K.C. McAlpin urged McAuliffe to ask the Democratic delegates to the party's national convention to adopt a platform plank supporting official English. Thousands of signed petitions from ProEnglish members accompanied the letter. The draft platform language currently being considered by the Democrats' national platform committee makes no mention of the subject. "This is unconscionable in a democracy such as ours," McAlpin said in the letter. "Our country has thrived as the most successful multi-ethnic and pluralistic nation in the history of the world. But today the unprecedented immigration of non-English speaking immigrants threatens to unravel the linguistic and cultural unity of the United States." "This might not be so serious if government and other institutions put the same emphasis on encouraging immigrants to learn English that was true in earlier times," McAlpin said. "But under pressure from special interest groups public policy leaders today are increasingly willing to abandon the melting pot ideal that has characterized American public policy in the past." McAlpin noted that English is now the official language of twenty-seven states, and public opinion polls show the American public is overwhelmingly in favor of making it the nation's official language. "As our country becomes more diverse due to immigration, preserving English as our common language becomes more, not less important to the future well being and unity of our nation," McAlpin added. Other Press releases ProEnglish's letter to Mr. McAuliffe .