Reapportionment

I was deeply disturbed after reading “The 2001 Challenge for California Latinos,” by Frank del Olmo (Commentary, Nov. 8). Del Olmo’s essay calling for the creation of legislative districts to be apportioned on the basis of creating Latino districts is a clearly unconstitutional scheme that violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

I suggest that Del Olmo read the U.S. Supreme Court holding in Shaw vs. Reno (1993). Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote, “Racial classifications of any sort pose the risk of lasting harm to our society. They reinforce the belief, held by too many for too much of our history, that individuals should be judged by the color of their skin. Racial classifications with respect to voting carry particular dangers. Racial gerrymandering, even for remedial purposes, may Balkanize us into competing racial factions.”

One only has to look at the ethnic and religious enclaves in Serbia and the Middle East to see that Del Olmo’s beliefs are both odious and dangerous.

JASON MEISLER

Santa Monica