Nashville Charter Amendment 1 of 2009 (also known as the Nashville English Only Amendment or Nashville English First Amendment) was a proposed amendment to the charter of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

which, if passed, would have restricted the use of foreign languages in relation to the functions of the city government. Early voting was held from January 2, 2009 to January 17, 2009. Regular voting was held on January 22, 2009. The amendment failed to pass, with only 43.5% of voters supporting it. The referendum took place amidst a broader

English-only movement The English-only movement, also known as the Official English movement, is a political movement that advocates for the use of only the English language in official United States government operations through the establishment of English as the o ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Most of the funding for the initiative came from the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

-based lobbying organization

ProEnglish ProEnglish is an American nonprofit lobbying organization that is part of the English-only movement.Domenico MaceriMultilingualism: Americans are embracing Spanish ''International Herald Tribune'' (June 24, 2003). The group supports making English ...

Components

Accordingly, there were five components to Proposal 1: * Declaring an

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

of the city and county * Official actions "taken only" in English; communications and publications in English * No right to non-English services * Establishing language of government meetings * Exceptions for federal law, state law, and specific situations chosen by the Council but only on the grounds of health and safety Previous efforts to pass this type of legislation had been met with vigorous opposition from then-Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, who argued that the passage of an ordinance making English the official language of Nashville would create legal confusion, resulting in countless lawsuits. In his statement vetoing the ordinance in February 2007, Purcell said:

If this law takes effect, this city will be engaged in years of lawsuits testing the effect and constitutionality of the ordinance. That means hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees whether we win or lose, for no good reason.

Proponents of the proposal referred to it as "English First" while opponents called it "English Only" - each side claimed that the other side's terminology was misleading. The Associated Press called the measure a "foreign language ban." Supporters of Proposal 1 argued that government communication in only one language is simple and cost-effective and provides an incentive to non-English speakers to learn the language. The proponents of Proposal 1 were represented by Nashville English First, the brainchild of Nashvillians Jon Crisp and Eric Crafton, with the legal, financial, and moral support of

out of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. Opponents argued that the measure is antagonistic toward immigrants in transition, redundant in that English was already the "official and legal language" of Tennessee, and that passage of the measure could damage Nashville's reputation as a welcoming city, its international economy, its budget, and its safety. The most formal opposition came from Nashville for All of Us, a coalition of Nashville groups.

Results

The amendment failed to pass, with 41,752 votes opposed (56.5%) and 32,144 votes in support 43.5%.

References

{{Reflist Politics of Nashville, Tennessee English-only movement 2009 ballot measures Local elections in Tennessee