NASHVILLE, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A Virginia-based group contributed 90 percent of the funding for a failed English-only initiative in Nashville, a report released Tuesday said.
Nashville English First's financial disclosure form said that it received $82,500 from ProEnglish, an Arlington, Va., group founded by John Tanton, a controversial immigration opponent, The Nashville Tennessean reported. Lea Beaman, a Nashville businessman, gave $6,000, and English First raised a total of $89,722.76.
Last week, a proposed change to the Nashville charter that would have required almost all government documents to be produced only in English failed 57 percent to 43 percent. The only exceptions would have been where failing to provide translations would endanger public health or safety.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Tanton, a retired ophthalmologist, as someone with ties to hate groups, the newspaper said. In an article on its Web site, the center called Tanton "the puppeteer," saying he was behind a network of anti-immigrant groups.
Tanton was originally an environmental activist who became obsessed with population control and then with the possibility that the United States was being flooded with immigrants, the group said.
