azdailysun.com
By HOWARD FISCHER
Capitol Media Services
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
PHOENIX -- State lawmakers won't ask voters to ban government from considering race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in employment, contracting and education.But that doesn't mean the issue won't be on the November ballot. On a 32-27 margin Tuesday the House refused to approve HCR 2041 which would spell out in the state constitution that these factors cannot be considered. Five Republicans joined with all 27 Democrats to kill the measure.The vote came despite the pleas of Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who said there needs to be a constitutional provision banning preference."There is no place in America for discrimination," he said. "It's pretty outrageous when we think the government has the power to pick winners and losers, when government has the right to decide you get something based on who you are and not (because) you've earned it on merit."He specifically blamed the American Civil Liberties Union, "probably the most un-American organization I know of," for helping to kill the bill.The measure is identical to an initiative drive launched last year by Ward Connerly, a former member of the California Board of Regents, who convinced voters in his home state in 1996 to enact a similar measure.Connerly now has taken that campaign to Arizona and seven other states.But Connerly and his allies need 230,047 valid signatures by July 3 to qualify for the ballot. Pearce said he hoped legislators would put the measure there themselves, allowing Connerly to avoid having to hire paid circulators and save money for the actual campaign. [To see the entire story, go to: http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2008/04/09/news/state/20080409_arizona_news_49.txt ]
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