One Small Step for Congress -- One Giant Leap for Civil Liberties

Almost eclipsed by congressional debate over the continued meltdown taking place in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Lebanon, a great civil liberties victory occurred in Washington, D.C.

Last week, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another 25 years. A centerpiece of the 1960s civil rights movement, the law ended poll taxes, literacy tests, and other election devices that had been unfairly used for decades to keep African Americans from voting.

As with almost any issue dealing with race in America, reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act was not without controversy. Several Southern senators had followed the example of a number of Southern members of the House of Representatives in opposing the legislation. The lawmakers objected to renewing the law because it required their states to win Justice Department approval before changing any voting rules. Those who’d objected said in effect they were being punished for racist practices that occurred 40 years ago. Others objected because of provisions that required jurisdictions with large populations of non-English speaking citizens to print ballots in languages other than English.

Also, for the first time since becoming president, Mr. Bush attended and spoke at last week’s NAACP convention in Washington, D.C. Among his remarks, the president stated that he “looked forward to signing the Voting Rights Act without any amendments.” The president received a hearty applause that was only outdone when the president commented that "it's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart," and when he said that "I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party."

Under the banner of “all’s well that ends well,” the House of Representatives voted 390-33 in favor of passage (mostly Southern opposition) and 98-0 in the Senate. The two senators that did not vote for it are Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).

Now, we can all take a deep breath but, as we exhale, let us continue the work in defending the rest of our civil liberties.