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>> STEVE: Yesterday a group of Latino activists gifted a toilet to Arizona conservative Republican
Representative Carl Seel. Awww, that's nice! A toilet. It's the thought that counts right?
YES, yes it IS, especially when the thought just so happens to be a protest against a
pretty awful House Bill, which would make it a crime, a serious misdemeanor on first
offense, and a felony on second and subsequent offenses, for anyone who's in Arizona illegally,
to use ANY public resources. Including a public toilet. Or roads. Ok, cool Arizona, and how
do you plan on enforcing this law? Checking everyone's IDs as they enter the bathroom?
Or maybe you'd just assume the person entering the bathroom was possibly an illegal immigrant,
and when he/she comes out of the restroom you can check their ID. Wow. Just wow.
Apparently Seel felt the need to introduce this bill to make a statement. He even said
himself that it's unlikely to pass. But this is less than two years after the U.S.
Supreme Court invalidated several sections of Arizona's controversial 2010 law, aimed
at cracking down on illegal immigration. Erika Andiola, co-director of the DRM Coalition
told the Huffington Post that; "this guy is just trying to get attention." But it's
not the first time Arizona senators have attempted to get attention for some of their more conservative
agendas. Former state Senate president Russell Pearce authored and pushed passage of several
bills designed to make life as uncomfortable as possible for people in the state illegally.
A lot of these proposals were invalidated by a federal court though. Thankfully Alessandra
Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona stepped in with some commentary, saying "It's
extremely broad, and it's clearly unconstitutional if it would lead to harassment of people of
color. This bill would create even more problems of racial profiling then we're currently
seeing,"
And it's true, it's wrong on so many levels, but if this is all meant to fire people up
it's working. As for the protest, the group marched with the toilet to the Capitol, where
Capitol security had arranged for a member of Seel's staff to be present. After listening
to the group's concerns, the staff member said "I will not accept the toilet" and
walked away.
Really dude, free toilet? How rude to turn down a gift from the community. Oh maybe because
installing a new toilet sucks, the plumber is all booked this week, who would be available
to install it? Who would be quickly and cheaply able to install that toilet...
Ok but can I see both sides of the argument here, sort of... I mean, illegal immigration
is a complicated issue, taxes, housing, the general state of wellness for the people involved.
But there has to be a better way to deal with the issue, that doesn't come off as hostile
and antagonistic.
There's always a nice group of guys hanging out outside a Home Depot you can get to install...
OHhhhhhhhh....
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