Archive for CoCRI
According to a CBS4/Rocky Mountain News poll, 53 percent of registered Colorado voters support Amendment 46, which would put state and local governments out of the skin color business. (Source)
I suspect those who say they don’t support it don’t understand the issue. Amendment 46 will not end affirmative action, which doesn’t involve discrimination and preferential treatment. The measure would bar the government from treating people differently based on race and sex.
The Colorado Civil Rights Initiative’s Jessica Peck Corry told CBS4, “The time has come for the government to stop picking winners and losers based on race and gender. Colorado is a progressive state dedicated to equal opportunity and our equal opportunity programs should reflect that commitment.”
Melissa Hart, co-chair of No on Amendment 46, argues that the measure “uses language evocative of the civil rights movement, but it actually is an anti-civil rights measure,” yet she calls Ward Connerly a “carpetbagger,” language evocative of anti-Reconstructionists! On the civil rights movement point, she’s correct. The very thing black Americans fought against back then is still being done today, this time in favor of blacks and in the name of skin deep-only diversity. Government-sanctioned racial discrimination must be eliminated, no matter which group benefits.
Carpetbaggers, you may remember from history books, is a derisive term southerners gave to northerners who ventured below the Mason-Dixon line after the Civil War to establish order and to help freed slaves. By calling Connerly a carpetbagger, Hart intends to evoke similar derision. It’s ironic that she uses the language of people who not only wanted to keep blacks in bondage, but also wanted to keep the country divided. She’s so strongly opposed to Amendment 46 that she co-opts the language of pro-slavery southerners?
How progressive of you, Ms. Hart.
Addendum: Steven Willborn, dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law, called Roger Clegg an “outside agitator” for daring to study the law school’s admission policies. Outside agitators is what southerners call northerners who traveled south to help break down Jim Crow during the civil rights movement. Hmmm…I’m beginning to see a pattern.
Filed under: Amendment 46, CoCRI, Jessica Peck Corry | |Comments off
Who would have thought in 2008, some 50 years after the country groaned under the strain of dismantling laws and practices that relegated blacks to second class citizenship, the government still would be discriminating against people on the basis of race?
Alive and well is the practice of assessing black job applicants, contract bidders, and prospective college students under standards lower than those used to assess others, all in the name of diversity. Euphemistically known as affirmative action, this practice is odious enough when done in the private sector. But when the government does it, it’s time to act.
Read the rest at Townhall.com.
Filed under: Amendment 46, CoCRI, Column | |Comments off
The AP is reporting that Democratic governor Bill Ritter plans to announce his opposition to Amendment 46, which would amend the state constitution to ban government preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Shocking, yes?
In March, the Secretary of State determined that the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative submitted enough signatures to appear on the November ballot.
We’ll link to Ritter’s statement when it’s available.
Filed under: Amendment 46, CoCRI | |Comments off
A group of people claimed signature gatherers misled citizens into signing the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CoCRI), also known as Amendment 46. Some accused the campaign of tricking people into believing they were signing a petition to keep preferences instead of dismantling them. Venita Vinson said a signature gatherer asked her to sign a petition for “affirmative action.” (Source)
Last Friday an administrative law judge, who said the complainants didn’t supply enough details, threw out those claims.
CoCRI director said, “Given the lack of evidence presented by our opposition, the court did the right thing by dismissing all of the complaints. We will continue to fight with vigor any and all false allegations against Amendment 46.”
In March, the Colorado Secretary of State determined that CoCRI submitted enough signatures to appear on the November ballot. Earlier this month, the secretary announced that Initiative 82, which would preserve race and sex preferences in government hiring, contracting, and admissions, will not appear on the November ballot.
Filed under: CoCRI, Jessica Peck Corry | |Comments off
Earlier this month, the Colorado Secretary of State announced that Initiative 82, which would preserve race and sex preferences in government hiring, contracting, and admissions, will not appear on the November ballot.
As you may recall, the secretary determined in March that the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CoCRI) submitted enough signatures to appear on the November ballot. CoCRI, known as Amendment 46, reads: “The state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any group or individual on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public contracting, or public education.”
CoCRI director Jessica Peck Corry said, “We know that signature gathering campaigns are very difficult, but given the fact that this campaign was designed to confuse voters, we’re extremely pleased with the result.”
The Durango Herald Online features a story on race in the upcoming election as it pertains to preferences. People interviewed in the article include those who support Amendment 46. Proponent Kate Melvin said, “We’re saddling women and minorities with the notion that without assistance, they can’t get the job.”
Those who oppose the amendment say it would “end valuable programs” that help women and minorities in college programs like science and engineering. Typically, so-called affirmative action supporters misconstrue the meaning of the term.
There is nothing wrong with reaching out to a wide variety of people for hiring and admissions. That is affirmative action. It is wrong to implement a different standard (read: lower) of evaluation for women and minorities. That is preferential treatment.
Filed under: Amendment 46, CoCRI, Jessica Peck Corry | |Comments off
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