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In these divisive times under President Donald Trump, the Republicans in Lansing have found a way to make things even more divisive by passing useless legislation.
Jonathan Oosting writes in The Detroit News reports:
Michigan’s Republican-led House on Thursday approved legislation that would make English the official state language and require its use in public records, sparking objections from Democrats and a mocking proposal to also standardize punctuation rules.
Supporters said the bill would largely “codify” existing practice and celebrate a shared language, but critics bemoaned it as a divisive change that could marginalize immigrants and other residents who are not proficient in English.
Sponsoring Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Potterville, downplayed the criticism, noting that 32 other states have enacted similar laws, including what he sarcastically called the "vast right-wing jurisdictions of Massachusetts and California."
'This bill does nothing. It doesn’t change anything,” Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D-Saginaw tells the paper. Symbolically, it still could "isolate limited-English- speaking citizens we all represent," she adds.
