California proposes bill that could affect how Latinos write their name
If your name had an accent (tilde) or mark, chances are you weren’t able to use them.
CALIFORNIA.- Our Latino names are a huge part of our identity that we often have to abandon in order to assimilate in the United States.
In 1986, English was voted as the official language of California, which meant you couldn’t include accents or marks to your name on your birth certificate. A new law in California could finally change that.
Assembly Bill 77 would allow Californians to use diacritical marks on their government-issued documents. This would include ‘acentos’ and the ‘ñ’ used in Spanish. Residents would be allowed to request the changes on their documents as well by paying a fee.
The proposed bill would not only affect the Latino population, but also those with non-English names.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time leaders have tried to pass the law in the state. In fact, this is the third time, but now it has been introduced by Assembly Member Blanca Pacheco, who represents the state’s 64th district.
