Not exactly covering himself in distinction and glory early in his first term, the newest Minnesota State Senator, Mike Parry (R-26) lost his composure and shouted during a recent Senate committee hearing. Parry, who edged out DFLer Jason Engbrecht earlier this year in a special election, felt compelled to interrupt discussion of a bill to allow non-citizens access to drivers licenses by shouting, “Immigrants have no rights!”Clearly, this is not the case. But apart from the Senator's angry outburst, and despite predictable opposition from groups seeking to exploit the immigration debate for their own purposes, there's nothing to suggest this is about immigrant's rights.
It's about the rights of citizens, and public safety. It's about setting non-citizens up to buy legally mandated insurance, which protects us all. It's about collecting more information, and encouraging immigrants to be law-abiding.
Testimony in support of the bill came from many quarters, including Bruce Nestor, past president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
Senator Parry's embarrassing outburst brought to mind the lack of civility and decorum during President Obama's State of the Union earlier this year - at about the time Parry eked out a win in a 3-way contest during the special election in Minnesota Senate District 26 to replace Dick Day, who had abruptly quit his post to become a gambling industry lobbyist.
Senator Parry was strongly reprimanded by the committee chair.
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