County declares English its official language
By Meg Bernhardt
The Frederick News Post (MD)
April 24, 2008
Frederick, MD — A resolution proclaiming English as the official, primary and common language of Frederick County Government has been approved Thursday.
They chose not to vote on the original proposal by Commissioner Charles Jenkins, an ordinance that would have prevented the county from translating county government documents into other languages.
Though he had proposed it, Jenkins, a Republican, was the only one to vote against the resolution.
He said he was disappointed but not surprised about the vote, noting the resolution has no force of law.
'We're still at the status quo, whether you have a resolution or not,' he said.
The Frederick County Branch of the NAACP has scheduled a press conference later today to oppose both making English the official language and another proposal aimed at counting the number of illegal immigrants in county public schools.
