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April 10, 2009 · Websites this morning are filled with reaction to State Representative Betty Brown’s comments about voters of Asian descent. The Terrell Republican suggested they adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”
Brown made the comments Tuesday during a legislative hearing on a volatile and highly partisan voter ID bill. She was addressing a representative of the Organization of Chinese-Americans. He said some Asian Americans face difficulty at the polls because their given names may not match the common English names listed on their drivers licenses.
Here’s how Brown responded:
Rep. Brown: “Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese- I understand it’s a rather difficult language- do you think it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”
State Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie called Brown’s comments “disrespectful”, an “insult to minorities.”
Richie: “How do you justify that a fellow Texan should sacrifice his name. I think that is an insult to our values.”
Across the country Brown has became the target of jokes and outrage as blogs and websites posted her comments.
She could not be reached for an explanation. A spokesman for Brown said she was just trying to help immigrant voters find a solution to their confusion at the polls.
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