According to the Associated Press, the mayor of Albertville ,Alabama wants to require all local businesses with signs in Spanish to include an English translation, saying it is a matter of public safety.
The proposal by Mayor Lindsey Lyons that would amend the city’s sign laws is being questioned by some Hispanics. Lyons says that police officers who don’t read Spanish might take longer answering a 911 call at a business if the sign is in Spanish.
Aylene Sepulveda, a member of the local Hispanic group La Voz de la Comunidad, or the Voice of the Community says, “It hasn’t been an issue for public safety reasons.”
In addition, Lyons is said to be drafting an ordinance for discussion at Monday’s upcoming city council meeting to declare English the official language of the city.
Sepulveda thinks that if the city adopts the mayor’s proposal, the city should also require all English signs to include Spanish translations. She says, “Either make it fair for everybody or don’t make the language an issue at all.”
She is expected to address the city council next week with her idea, “We don’t expect it to pass, but it’s our way of getting ideas out there. It’s not meant to be confrontational either.”
Lyons responded to Sepulveda’s suggestion to make all signs in both English and Spanish “ludicrous.”
The mayor also asked, “Does she mean we’re living in Mexico? This is not Mexico or any other Latin American country. It’s the United States of America the last time I looked.”
Albertville, a town of some 20,000 is about 20 percent Hispanic. According to Sepulveda, the town has 52 registered businesses operated by Hispanics.
The idea of forcing Spanish-language business signs to include an English translation isn’t a new one. Gwinnett County, Ga., in the Atlanta suburbs, has considered such a policy but not implemented it.
Wow can you believe this?! So mcdonalds and wal mart should also be translated in spanish. God forbid and I walk into a mcdonalds thinking that its the hospital with the “eme” on it. I don’t mind making english the official language as long as someone can draft for me what makes it “official”. This stupid concept is so old and dumb.