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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2001
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Contact:
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Laura Macklem
202-833-0100
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U.S.ENGLISH Chairman Responds To Utah's Attorney General Shurtleff's Mockery Of Utah Law
WASHINGTON DC--U.S.ENGLISH Chairman/CEO Mauro E. Mujica responded today to
comments made by Utah's Attorney General Mark Shurtleff at a recent meeting with
members of the Hispanic community. Referring to Utah's Official English law and
"speaking almost entirely in Spanish," Shurtleff reportedly referred to the gathering
as a "pretend meeting."
"I find it disturbing that Utah's chief elected law enforcement official would
be mocking the law itself, particularly one enacted by an overwhelming majority
of the same voters who placed him in office," said Mujica. "His remarks were
inappropriate and set a poor example for those who see the Attorney General as
an example of what a law abiding citizen should be. To personally disagree with
a law is acceptable; for a law enforcement officer to make fun of it is not.
"In addition to mocking a voter-approved statute, the Attorney General's remarks
also gave the impression that the Official English law somehow prohibits the use
of foreign languages at public meetings. That is simply not the case, and if he
has read the recent ruling of Utah's Third Judicial District Court, he knows that
is not the case."
Earlier this month, Utah's Third Judicial District Court affirmed the constitutionality
of Initiative A, which confirmed English as the official language of Utah. Last November,
67 percent of Utahns voted in favor of Initiative A, which is now law. The measure does
not prevent public officials from speaking with constituents in other languages, but does
state that official meetings must be conducted in English.
"It is commendable that the Attorney General speaks Spanish and that he is able
to converse with his Hispanic constituents. However, if he intends to communicate
with all of his constituents in their native languages, he is going to be busy
learning the 118 or so languages other than English and Spanish spoken by Utahns,"
said Mujica, an immigrant from Chile whose first language is Spanish. "As the voters
clearly understood, the key to unity and understanding among the state's increasingly
diverse population is communication through a common language. That is what Utah's Official
English law reflects, and it is too important to be ridiculed in a public meeting by one
of the state's highest ranking elected officials.
"He would better earn his public salary by encouraging state programs that provide opportunities
for all Utahns to learn English."
U.S.ENGLISH is the nation's oldest, largest citizens' action group dedicated to
preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded
in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S.ENGLISH now has more than
1.4 million members nationwide.
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