Proud to Still Vote in Vermont

This from VT Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which just opened hearings on a proposed overhaul of the country's immigration system:

“Last week, opponents of comprehensive immigration reform began to exploit the Boston Marathon bombing,” Mr. Leahy said. “I urge restraint in that regard. Refugees and asylum seekers have enriched the fabric of this country from our founding. In Vermont, we welcome as neighbors Bhutanese, Burmese, Somalis, just as other states have welcomed immigrants to America for refuge and opportunity, whether it’s the Hmong in Minnesota, Vietnamese-Americans in California, Virginia and Texas, Cuban-Americans in Florida and New Jersey, or Iraqis in Utah. Our history is full of these stories of salvation."

“Let no one be so cruel as to try to use the heinous acts of these two young men last week to derail the dreams and futures of millions of hard-working people,” Mr. Leahy said. “The bill before us would serve to strengthen our national security by allowing us to focus our border security and enforcement efforts against those who do us harm, but a nation as strong as ours can welcome the oppressed and persecuted without making compromise in our security.”

Comments

[flask]

wooo, senator leahy!

i love senator leahy. i mostly love his work (some of his votes on digital privacy are worrying) but on the whole he represents my state with dignity and restraint and that's what i told him in a letter last week.

thank you for noticing him.

[Dominic]

It's about bravery. One should welcome "the oppressed and persecuted". One should be brave enough to do so - even if it carries an element of risk (and there's a good case for saying isolationism is riskier). One should do it not only because it's the decent thing to do but because to do so is one mark of a free society.

Incidentally, those who (unlike me) believe in the right of everyone to carry arms should think about this and try to be consistent. That right -as they see it, I presume- is about "defending freedom". Sometimes -just as importantly- we are required to defend freedom in peaceful, generous ways.