Johnson Wants City To Sever Ariz. Ties
Sacramento Mayor Recalls Sadness Over Trade To Phoenix Suns
POSTED: 3:10 pm PDT April 28, 2010
UPDATED: 3:44 pm PDT April 28, 2010
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said he's going to work with City Hall colleagues to sever the city's economic ties to Arizona over that state's new immigration law.
In a blog post Wednesday, Johnson said the law, which directs Arizona's state and local police to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the country illegally, "contradicts the foundation of American justice on multiple levels."
"Beyond the law’s discretionary bigotry, it stands as a hypocritical application of presumptive guilt, a violation of our essential Constitutional rights. Ultimately, it requires the most color-blind police officer to judge people based on their skin color," Johnson wrote.
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The mayor, a former NBA star, recalled his "deep personal sadness" when he was traded to the Phoenix Suns from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1988. The reason, he said, was because Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham had rescinded the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King a year earlier.
"Arizona needed five years and the loss of an estimated $300 million in tourism dollars -- including the removal of the 1993 Super Bowl -- before voters finally gave Dr. King his day," Johnson wrote.
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