HomeMy WebLinkAbout051125 email - National Police Week proclamationALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Commissioners,
I fully support the intent of the National Police Week proclamation.
However, I need to once again remind you that, with the exception of certain suffrage rights, all residents of Jefferson County have the same rights and responsibilities as do citizens.
The proposed proclamation does not say that but instead singles out “citizens”.
While it is likely that there was no ill intent when that language was first introduced to such proclamations, and that the proclamations’ language has been unchanged for many years,
that is not a sufficient excuse for continuing the imprecise mis-use of that word.
Non-citizens are under attack by the current administration’s America First extremist agenda, as shown by its white nationalist and xenophobic policies and actions. Mass deportations
abound, being done with complete disregard of the due process rights in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Even citizens are not safe from those who endeavor to replace our democracy with an authoritarian state; several citizens have now been scooped off the streets by federal agents and
deported in total violation of their constitutional rights.
Jefferson County must strenuously reject such ideology and practices. Being precise in the terminology used in official government communications is a necessary first step.
Thank you,
Tom Thiersch