Patrick J. Buchanan's argument for Proposition 187 and state equal protection law

¶ … Patrick J. Buchanan's argument for proposition 187 - the case will focus on the constitutionality of state laws that deny benefits to illegal aliens specifically "the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment."

The subject here is a matter of concern to American citizens in a state where there are a large number of people who have come to share in its benefits, and who do not contribute to the strength of the community. Patrick Joseph Buchanan, have been an American in November 2nd 1938 and have clearly stated his views many times to the people of this country through his books, newspapers and the television. He also tried to become the President of this great country and in 2000, he ran on the ticket of the Reform Party. This was after trying for the ticket with the Republican Party and not succeeding to get it. According to me, his general views are clear and has been mentioned to people through many books, as also through the American Conservative magazine, of which he was proud to be a member. The development of his opinions was thus clear and at no stage was there a support from his side for an action that was not supported by the majority of the people. Of course, he was a Roman Catholic and he liked to serve the country as much as the last President who became a martyr for this country, John Kennedy.

The education which he received was also excellent and started with Gonzaga High School, followed up with a degree in English and Philosophy from Georgetown University and a Master's Degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1962. I believe that he was a traditional conservative unlike others who claim that they are conservative, but their actions are not like a true conservative. He had been earlier a member of the Republican Party but was compelled to leave the party when the party shifted away from its principle of conservatism and adopted a policy of convenience. This makes his views being like the thoughts of earlier conservatives, up to Ronald Reagan who has passed away sometime back. They were the true conservatives, yet many say that they would have been unpopular today. Whether that is so or not, we cannot know, as most of those revered leaders are no longer available to guide this country on the correct path. Thus I believe that this is what is leading to the problems of this country and undemocratic action by some of the people who have been elected to the high offices by the people of this great country. (Pat Buchanan: Wikipedia Encyclopedia)

Getting back to the issue on hand, the proposition was first passed by the voters on November 8th, 1994 and the objective was to deny benefits to illegal aliens in California. (History of Proposition 187) This is where the problem starts and it was felt that if the opposition forces had been organized, or adopted measures that were more progressive, then the voting majority would have been won by that section, and we mean here the section opposing the bill. This is not true as the bill seeks to deny health care, social services and education to the people resident in California, and this was a matter of concern to the people then residing in the state. The situation has changed from that time, and the state has shifted from being a white majority state to a state with a majority of people who are colored. Yet most of those people do not have voting rights, and 76% of the voters are still white.

The increase in the numbers of colored persons has happened due to migration from other states and the higher birthrate among them. The proposition was the correct way for the white people to express their concern over this state of affairs. This can be seen not only from the support that the bill got from whites but also from the others. No groups opposed the measure and the least support was from the Latinos who supported it with 52% of their votes. The other colored groups like the Asian-Americans and African-Americans supported the measure. The changes came when the bill came to the legislature and on that day, 77% of the Latinos voted against the bill along with 53% of the Asian-Americans and African-American voters. (Proposition 187 Lessons)

Yet it still could not stop the bill from being passed as a large majority of the voters were white, and the whites wanted the bill passed to continue enjoying the privileges that they had been enjoying for generations. Passing of the bill got the other groups active as they would like the bill to be stopped anyway as the bill would mean that a major section of the community would be put in trouble if they did not get the benefits that they were enjoying in the past. This pushed the situation where several lawsuits were filed in the California State Court by the associations of those communities the next day. This got the legal process started to stop a bill that had been passed by the state legislature. (History of Proposition 187)

It is often misunderstood that this has some relationship to the Equal Protection clause that comes in the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. That part stops any state from giving any individual falling within its area less protection than any other person. I would like to emphasize that what it means was that the states must treat all individuals in the same manner as all other citizens who are in the same condition and similar circumstances. This can be said to be applicable when a state tries to stop any individual entering into an employment contract because of the individual's race. The objective of this amendment according to me was to provide "equal application" of the laws to all citizens and not equality for the classes or individuals. (Equal Protection: An Overview)