State's new immigration law worries Arizona soldier

[Xipe Totec]

Source: CNN



Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- At a vigil protesting the passage of Arizona's tough new illegal immigration law, a young man in Army fatigues and a beret lit a candle at a makeshift shrine.

Pfc. Jose Medina, an Army medic, came to the Arizona capitol while on leave, to express his sadness over the law, signed by Arizona's governor on Friday.

"I'm here because this is something that's close to my heart," said Medina. "I went off to protect this country, to protect my family. That's what hurts."

The new law, signed by the Arizona governor on Friday, requires police to determine whether a person is in the United States legally. It also requires immigrants to carry their registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect that they're in the country illegally. Some fear the law will result in racial profiling.

Medina, 20, is from El Mirage, a working class Latino community northwest of Phoenix.

"When I first joined the military, they would ask us where you from, and I would say 'I'm from the great state of Arizona,' " Medina reflected. "I was raised here, I grew up here. Now I don't know if I can say that so proudly. I don't know if I want to live here anymore."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/25/arizona.soldier.immigration.vigil/index.html

[HereSince1628]

1. Well, that will probably earn him an Article 15

for wearing his uniform at a political rally against conservative xenophobes who expect all true patriots to be locking down the border and chasing illegals out of the state.

[Lost-in-FL]

2. Political? That is not a political rally, it is about defending one's human rights.

Soldiers swear to "support and defend the constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic". At least that is the way I remember it.

[Macoy]

3. Attend, Just Not in Uniform

No one is allowed to attend an event like this in uniform….just imagine the uproar…and justifiable outrage if he showed up in uniform to support the law, or a Tea bagger rally. As an American, he has the right to go to any rally/protest/meeting he wishes to, just leave the uniform at home.


Macoy

[Lost-in-FL]

4. An Article 15 is nothing...

and besides, he is only a PFC and can recover if he gets demoted. If he is court martialed, he might end up winning specially if he found to be a good soldier.

[MattSh]

6. There's way too many people...

obeying rules for no obvious reason. To many people use rules as an excuse to do nothing.

Desperate times demand desperate measures. Go ahead. Break a few rules. Your country make eventually thank you for it.

[SoapBox]

5. For those that might be BOYCOTTING AZ based companies...

For those that might not make purchases from companies HQ'd in Arizona OR that might want to write letters to said companies, asking their stance on this issue...

found an interesting list on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arizona_companies

FYI.

[LuckyLib]

7. Petsmart! Now there is a national chain that might wield some clout!