A Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates has promised to find ways to force a vote on legislation he authored making English Maryland’s official state language, reports the W. Times. Del. Pat McDonough of Baltimore County said yesterday that if his legislation fails to make it out of the House Health and Government Operations Committee — it currently has only nine of 13 votes needed for passage — he will find ways to bring it before the entire House of Delegates.

Maryland has twice entertained such legislation — it was vetoed by Democratic governors in both 1995 and 1998 — which supporters claim will encourage immigrants to learn English while opponents deride it as being divisive. Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich has not stated whether or not he would sign such legislation if it were passed by the House.

U.S. English, Inc., a 1.8 million member organization that has lobbied for English-only language laws since 1983, argues that multilingualism can divide the country and harm the economy. They note that 27 states so far have designated English as their official language, including Virginia (which did so in 1981 and again in 1996). Figures published on their website state that 79 languages are spoken in the District, 117 in Maryland, and 123 in Virginia.

Del. McDonough has introduced a variety of proposals aimed squarely at illegal immigrants, including limiting public assistance to them and denying them drivers licenses — a record that has left him liked by some and disliked by others. He estimates that there are 126,000 illegal immigrants in Maryland. According to the 2000 census, 35 percent of all immigrants in Maryland are from Asia, 34 percent from Latin America, and 17 percent from Europe. The power of the Spanish-speaking population in the region was made clear earlier this year when popular rock station 99.1 WHFS switched over to a Spanish-language format.

As for DCist readers: What do you think? ¿Que piensas? ¿Qu’est-ce vous pense?