Daniela Berson
WMAL.com
FREDERICK, MD — (WMAL) The Frederick County Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to repeal the controversial “English only ordinance” put in place by the county government in 2012.
The ordinance was created to ensure that “official county business” was conducted in English, but various multilingual communities were concerned about the vague wording of the law.
County Council Member Jerry Donald said that part of the problem with the ordinance was its loose interpretation of what counts as English language.
“How are we defining this? Oxford Dictionary? Webster’s Dictionary? It doesn’t say American English,” Donald questioned, “What’s the definition we’re working with?”
Council Member Tony Chmelik said that the law should not be repealed, but revised with friendlier language.
“Clearly this law is not an English only law,” Chmelik said.
Chmelik also said that communities should work with non-English speakers to help them learn what he called “the dominant language for hundreds of years to come.”
Ultimately, the Frederick County Council decided to repeal the law altogether, with Donald voting for the repeal and Chmelik voting against it.
The bill was proposed by Council Member Jessica Fitzwater who also cited her constituents’ confusion about the ordinance.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Frederick County Government)
