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TN Governor Haslam is wobbly on SB 10



TN Governor Haslam is wobbly on SB 10

The new TN governor needs to hear from you so he knows that TN voters support SB 10!

Take Action!
March 2, 2010

Thank you for such an excellent response to our last call to action in support of SB 10!
 
Last week, we alerted you about an upcoming committee hearing in the Tennessee Senate regarding SB 10, which would require that driver's license written exams are given in no languages other than English.
 
However, just a few hours after we sent our action alert, we received word that the committee hearing had been postponed. Although the specific reason for postponement is not known, numerous reports have been circulating that new Governor Haslam (R) has "concerns" about the bill.
 
Watch this brief news report below which highlights the Governor's comments on SB 10:

 
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In the video, you heard Gov. Haslam claim that SB 10 might harm Tennessee's attractiveness to foreign corporations and hurt business investment, but this argument has been frequently used time and again by those opposed to official English proposals.
 
Foreign corporations don't base multi-million dollar investment decisions on anything as trivial as driver's license exams. Instead, they are motivated by things like access to markets, tax rates, incentives, transportation infrastructure and the availability of a skilled and (English) literate workforce.
 
As you know, English is the language of international business, and as a rule, foreign executives who relocate to the U.S. already speak fluent English before they get here. As responsible institutions, and like American citizens, foreign companies are also concerned for the safety of their employees on our roads and highways, so adopting SB 10 into law would be a definite asset to the state of Tennessee.
 
Politicians often become hesitant to advocate assimilation and support the melting pot tradition for fear of alienating non-English speaking residents, even though U.S. citizenship is required to vote and in order to become a naturalized citizen, you must be able to speak English.  All-too-often, politicians end up aiming to please a non-voting constituency by opposing legislation that is overwhelmingly supported by the citizen voters who swept them into elected office!
 
Confusing, inconsistent, quasi-multilingualism that differs from state-to-state weakens a cohesive national identity and actually disadvantages immigrants rather than helping them to grasp and understand what their new community expects of them.
 
Official English legislation does not send an "unwelcoming" message to immigrants or foreign investors; rather, it conveys what their new community, in this case Tennessee, expects of them: Assimilation into the American culture and working to become fully functional, participating members of society.
 
 
Please begin calling and emailing the Governor's office!
 
Tell Gov. Haslam that you support SB 10, explain why it's good for Tennessee, and that he should support it, too!
 
Call him:
 
Constituent Services
 
(615) 253-7749
 
Legislative Office
 
(615) 741 5744
  

Write to him:

State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243
 
 
Email him: 

 
More resources:
 
NEW! ProEnglish Backgrounder: Assimilation v. Multiculturalism
 
 
 
ProEnglish is a self-governing project of U.S., Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and the nation's leading advocate of official English. We work through the courts and in the court of public opinion to defend English's historic role as America's common, unifying language, and to persuade lawmakers to adopt English as the official language at all levels of government. You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
 

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