Written by Michael Palomba
A few weeks back, I wrote about The California Act for Economic Prosperity,” also known as ACA 5. Don’t confuse that with AB 5, which is horrible for its own reasons. ACA 5 has only two things in common with AB 5: the involvement of Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and the fact that it’s an awful piece of legislation.
The California Act for Economic Prosperity is a regressive resolution that aims to amend the California Constitution to allow favorable treatment of some races. If this sounds familiar, it may be because we outlawed practices like this in the 20th century. Alas, it looks like California Democrats want to take us back to the 19th century and make some races unequal under the law once again.
ACA 5 would repeal Proposition 209, which was voted into law by the people of California in 1996. The mission of Proposition 209 was to eliminate any preferential treatment based on “race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.” And it applied to public employment, public contracting, and public education.
ACA 5 was introduced by Assemblymembers Weber, Gipson, and Santiago; and co-authored by Assemblymembers Burke, Cooper, Gonzalez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Kamlager, McCarty, and Stone. Upon reading it, it’s littered with unsubstantiated liberal talking points and aims for equality of outcome, which is impossible, despite the fact that it talks a lot about “equal opportunity.”
In light of the far-left rallying behind ACA 5, State Assembly candidate June Cutter is holding a virtual town hall challenging ACA 5 this Wednesday. The event will run from 6 PM-7:30 PM and will be held through Zoom. You can RSVP to receive a link here.
Cutter is fiercely against ACA 5 and a strong supporter of Prop 209. She sent out an announcement reminding voters that “Prop 209 was voted into law by the people of California.” She also brings to light that this is not the far-left’s first time trying to change or repeal Prop 209, but this is their most bold attempt. Previous attempts have only been to change or repeal parts of Prop 209, but this time they are just trying to repeal it entirely.
All Proposition 209 did was end preferential treatment based on race, gender, and the like. It moved us into a time period when the law was blind, which is a fair is it can be. So, how could this possibly cause minority and women-owned business enterprise programs to fail? And if it did cause them to fail, wouldn’t that indicate that they were only surviving based on preferential treatment? This change essentially made any public opportunities color blind, and that’s exactly how it should be.
Thankfully, the San Diego Asian Americans for Equality (SDAAFE) continues to be on the frontlines in protecting Prop 209. They have fought a prior attempt to repeal Prop 209, and it’s good to know that they are not afraid to do it again.
#ACA5 is the same. It has nothing about diversity. It’s completely politics, racism and divisive. ACA 5 must STOP! @GailHeriot @svcaf2020 @FoundationToc @LorenaAD80 @waasianequality https://t.co/gJ1pTAcRqV
— SDAAFE (@SdaafeOfficial) May 24, 2020
There’s no reason to implement a regressive, racist bill like ACA 5. We are all equal under the law, and that is the only way it should ever be. Be sure to show your support for Prop 209 by attending June Cutter’s webinar on Wednesday and by signing SDAAFE’s petition against ACA 5.
For more information about June Cutter and her campaign for State Assembly District 77, visit JuneCutter.com.
