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Log inLawmakers formulate resolution on racism
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Lawmakers formulate resolution on racism
by Outspoken on Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:37 am
Lawmakers formulate resolution on racism
A sign in Standish and other post-election incidents in Maine prompt an official response.
By DENNIS HOEY
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
A former Maine secretary of state is hopeful that his colleagues in the Legislature will pull together to support a resolution denouncing acts of racism and threats.
State Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said he and his co-sponsors, Sen. Mike Shaw, D-Standish, and Rep. John Robinson, R-Raymond, will try to get the resolution signed by all 186 state legislators.
The item could be voted on as early as Dec. 3, the first day of the new legislative session.
"It's simply a way for the Legislature to make a statement about an issue they feel strongly about," Diamond said Tuesday.
"I think this is important because people need to know that this type of hatred is not the prevailing feeling in our state. If it's left unsaid, people outside our state can be left to draw their own conclusions," he said.
Diamond said he decided to push ahead with the resolution after he heard about a store in his district that posted a sign announcing the "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool."
Scrawled across a whiteboard inside the Oak Hill General Store was, "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count." At the bottom of the board was, "Let's hope someone wins."
Participants in the pool bet $1 on a date when President-elect Barack Obama would be assassinated.
The matter is under review by the state Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Secret Service.
A call to the store Tuesday night went unanswered. The store's owner, Steve Collins, is reportedly on vacation.
The sign in Standish has been lumped in with several post-election incidents around the nation, including others in Maine.
At Gray-New Gloucester High School, a student stood up in class and delivered a racist, anti-Obama rant. On Mount Desert Island, police are investigating three cases in which black cardboard cutouts of human figures were hung from trees along roads just after the election.
Rachel Talbot Ross, president of the NAACP's Portland branch, said her organization believes there must be a stronger response to the incidents.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222837&ac=PHnws
A sign in Standish and other post-election incidents in Maine prompt an official response.
By DENNIS HOEY
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
A former Maine secretary of state is hopeful that his colleagues in the Legislature will pull together to support a resolution denouncing acts of racism and threats.
State Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said he and his co-sponsors, Sen. Mike Shaw, D-Standish, and Rep. John Robinson, R-Raymond, will try to get the resolution signed by all 186 state legislators.
The item could be voted on as early as Dec. 3, the first day of the new legislative session.
"It's simply a way for the Legislature to make a statement about an issue they feel strongly about," Diamond said Tuesday.
"I think this is important because people need to know that this type of hatred is not the prevailing feeling in our state. If it's left unsaid, people outside our state can be left to draw their own conclusions," he said.
Diamond said he decided to push ahead with the resolution after he heard about a store in his district that posted a sign announcing the "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool."
Scrawled across a whiteboard inside the Oak Hill General Store was, "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count." At the bottom of the board was, "Let's hope someone wins."
Participants in the pool bet $1 on a date when President-elect Barack Obama would be assassinated.
The matter is under review by the state Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Secret Service.
A call to the store Tuesday night went unanswered. The store's owner, Steve Collins, is reportedly on vacation.
The sign in Standish has been lumped in with several post-election incidents around the nation, including others in Maine.
At Gray-New Gloucester High School, a student stood up in class and delivered a racist, anti-Obama rant. On Mount Desert Island, police are investigating three cases in which black cardboard cutouts of human figures were hung from trees along roads just after the election.
Rachel Talbot Ross, president of the NAACP's Portland branch, said her organization believes there must be a stronger response to the incidents.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222837&ac=PHnws
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
