State legislators are trying again to make English the official language of the Oklahoma government and its business dealings.

State Reps. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, George Faught, R-Muskogee, Mike Christian, R-Oklahoma City, and State Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Cleveland, filed legislation in January to send a proposed constitutional amendment to Oklahoma voters that would make English the state’s official language.

“We hope that this amendment will help legal immigrants participate in society and become more successful,” Faught said. “This is only to affect official state business and does not deal with private speech or private business.”

Faught said the bill will allow the state would be able to save taxpayer money by printing all state materials like ballots, drivers’ licenses and pamphlets in English.

The bill would contain exemptions for the languages of Oklahoma’s 39 federally recognized American Indian tribes and allows the use of Braille and sign language in government services. The legislation also contains a number of other specific exceptions for things such as public health and safety, criminal defense and anything that could be overridden by federal law if it should conflict.

“This is a common-sense issue and one of my campaign promises,” Faught said. “I believe that this will help our immigrants who are here legally. If they do not know the language, they are limited to slave labor, sentenced to menial jobs and will not be able to achieve the American dream.”

In the last two years, lawmakers have tried to pass similar legislation with much opposition from multilingual communities, and legislators have since added the exception of the 39 federally recognized American Indian languages to their list.

“Although legislative language designating English as the official state language often includes an exception for native languages, Oklahoma was established and continues to function as a place of various cultures and languages that cannot be accurately represented by an official language,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith stated in an e-mail. “Should legislation such as this be enacted, it sets the stage to pursue other legislation to eliminate and prohibit the use of languages other than English, including Cherokee.”

Some Hispanic leaders see the bill as an assault against the Hispanic community.

“From personal experience, I have never heard anyone say they do not want to learn English and that they want to make Spanish an official language for the state or the country,” said Pat Fennell, director of the Latino Community Development Agency. “With this bill, legislators look as though it is a detriment to be bilingual, instead of seeing it as a gift.”

Fennell said legislators should mandate more efficient English-learning opportunities in Oklahoma.

“When you deal with business in North America, you have to speak English; [the Hispanic community] recognizes that,” she said. “Everyone is trying to learn English, but they cannot go to the classes after work or [the classes] are not efficient ... if they are, they are filled to their capacity.”

Faught said polls have shown more than 80 percent of Oklahomans support the bill, and in a national poll conducted by Zogby International, more than 60 percent of Hispanics support making English the official language.

Community leaders, however, see little benefit for their multilingual communities.

“These [immigrants] are here legally, why must we put up more hurdles for them?” said Richard Klinge, director of social action for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s Catholic Charities. “It will take time for these immigrants to learn the language, but it will happen; why must we establish more roadblocks for them to overcome?”

Bishop Edward Slattery of the Tulsa Diocese said he thinks the legislation is unnecessary.

“This legislation is not going to help make the [immigrants] learn English any sooner,” Slattery said. “With this law, it could be interpreted by others as a bias; we need to make people feel welcome. They are here, they will stay. They are good and they enrich our culture. Leave things as they are and let nature take its course.”

Smith said he fears that if the Oklahoma government makes English the official state language, groups will be further divided and the multilingual communities will be pressured into abandoning their languages.

“[The bill] sends a much stronger message that divides and polarizes the residents of Oklahoma,” Smith stated. “I oppose this legislation because such efforts brand Oklahoma with the badge of intolerance; because it creates a society of isolationists that reject other cultures; and because it sends a message that Oklahoma does not appreciate the value in other cultures and languages.”