…and before the resolution could draw its first breath, it was vetoed by mayor John Cook.  The fact that it was vetoed is no surprise, the fact that it passed through the council 5-3 was impressive enough to keep some at the El Paso Times working late.

The resolution was put forward by Beto O’Rourke.  It expresses the solidarity of the council with Ciudad Juarez “in the face of the multiple heinous acts of violence being committe against our bi-national community”.  It also urges the governments of Mexico and the United States to explore policies that seek to reduce drug use while focusing on rehabilitation instead of incarceration.

O’Rourke is calling for a meaningful discussion about our nations drug policy; it’s a tough topic that we can’t continue to ignore or simply find ridiculous.  O’Rourke should be commended for bringing it up and taking it seriously.

The El Paso Times website has a videotaped interview with O’Rourke conducted after the council meeting.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Ben. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.