Timing is so important. When the American Bar Association, in conjunction with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), decided to hold the Equal Justice Conference at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix next week, no one could have guessed that it would follow on the heels of one of the most xenophobic pieces of legislation ever crafted, ABA President Carolyn Lamm wrote :
This law encourages second-class treatment of individuals based on the color of their skin, and that is unacceptable. The American Bar Association has long opposed these kinds of initiatives because they intrude on personal civil rights and because they belie our nation’s principle of justice for all. When justice for anyone in America is threatened, it diminishes us all as a free people.
For the ABA, an association largely dedicated to upsetting no one, this is quite a strong statement. Clearly, the ABA has taken the position that Arizona SB1070 is “unacceptable”. Some might think this is a reason not to bring its members, and their cash, to Arizona. But it takes a lot of planning to put a conference together. And there are non-refundable plane tickets, and hotel reservations, and, well, many impediments to change. As long as any dark or ethnic appearing attendees bring their proof of citizenship, they should be fine.
The NLADA didn’t think so. They pulled out.
For nearly 100 years we have been utilizing our collective passion, expertise and voices under the umbrella of NLADA to promote equal justice. While we call it “equal justice,” at bottom NLADA’s mission is about ensuring that all people are treated with fairness and respect; it is about protecting human dignity; it’s about people. Thus, while recognizing that the decision to participate is an individual one, given the reality of the law we do not believe that we should play an institutional role in potentially placing our members in the position of suffering the indignity and abuse of rights and freedoms that laws like this promulgate. Accordingly, after much debate we have taken the position that NLADA will withdraw from the Equal Justice Conference. Our decision is grounded in our mission, vision and values.
The ABA, however, chose to stay the course. It would be a shame if they blew off Equal Justice just because it was being held in a state that had just legislated its denial.
Recognizing that the participants in this particular conference might find the ABA’s decision problematic, it issued
You must be another New Yorker who doesn’t understand what is really going on in Mariciopa County.
AILA pulled out right away. Granted, they are an immigration lawyers group so it would be odd if they didn’t, and they also had some time (the meeting is in the fall) but they lost money.
It really is astounding that the only place where there are immigrants (legal or otherwise) is Arizona. There are none in New York or California. And lord knows I didn’t just walk by a group of brown men playing soccer in my office parking lot.Poor sad Arizona. How misunderstood you are.
I heard the same thing in the South in the 50’s and 60’s. The same attitude in germany in the 30’s. Hate and hysteria.
You are the one who doesn’t understand.I am happy to know that if all the illegals are out of Arizona you will live in a crime free, low tax paradise. No criminal defense lawyers will be needed and Sherrif Joe won’t have a job.
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.
I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.
Have you had a chance to review the ABA’s amicus curiae? All I can say is, THANK GOD. Arizona is rapidly descending into a hate-filled, xenophobic wasteland. You have a very poorly-educated public (and a legislature that guts public education because the governor and state lawmakers themselves have little formal training and virtually no higher education – well, except for those who oppose SB 1070, that camp has well-reasoned scholars with law degrees, a pure coincidence, I’m sure) that fails is growing more resentful with each passing day. Some Arizonans feel that not only do they not need collej, but they don’t need the federal government at all. There’s a growing faction that wants to secede (at least the state legislators understand that the federal government funds more Arizona programs than Arizona itself). You might like this scathing analysis of SB 1070, from law professors in Arizona universities [Ed. Note: Link deleted per rules.] Of course, Arizonans just dismiss these professors as open border amnesty types and refuses to read their report.
What a shame that you chose not to post under your real name, thus diminishing your credibility. Worse still, the name you chose, Truth, renders you incredible. Your post is valuable, and you’ve undercut whatever value it could offer for lack of willingness to put your name to it. A terrible shame.