Fuller: Sanctuary referendum will not make it to 2006 ballot
KTRH-740's Brent Fuller is reporting that a group trying to change Houston's sanctuary policy will not be able to place the issue before voters this fall:
The offical deadline to put any City of Houston charter changes before voters this fall is August 29. But, due to city rules and some strong opposition on city council to the proposal, it appears the group really needed to file their petition before August 11.
The Mayor's own proposal, on the other hand, looks set to go before voters this fall. Mayor White hopes to gut certain provisions of the Proposition 2 referendum that was approved by voters in 2004. Mayor White offered his own Proposition 1 as an alternative to Proposition 2, but a judge has ruled that since both passed, the city must abide by both.
Fuller's accurate characterization of the anti-sanctuary-proposal is nice to see/hear:
The petition aims to change a long-standing policy at HPD. Right now, city cops are forbidden from asking anyone about their citizenship status if they're stopped for a Class C misdemeanor offense, like a traffic ticket or trespassing. City cops also can't stop someone and ask about their legal status if they've committed no crime. The petition, if approved, would leave those enforcement issues to officers' discretion.
Too many people continue to assert that repealing the sanctuary directive would turn Houston into a police state, where cops constantly harass citizens for documentation. As KTRH's steady Fuller points out, that's not what is being proposed. Rather, the proposal would simply return the matter to the discretion of officers on the street.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/14/06 01:46 PM | Print |
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