Requiring all drivers to know the rules of the road and buy car insurance should be considered good public safety

So, I don't get it.

As a conservative driver, I would want to make sure every driver in Colorado knows the rules of the road and also has proper car insurance. But apparently Colorado Democrats and Republicans do not think this is an important issue.

Republicans don’t want to “encourage immigration” by forcing or requiring every driver to pass a test and get insurance.

On the other hand, Colorado Democrats are all about keeping their majority, and that implies doing nothing new or progressive. (Apparently, this has worked in the past.)

Thousands of unlicensed and uninsured drivers hit the road every morning to go to work or take kids to school.

OMG! Why would "they" do such a thing?

It’s simple. Colorado state law currently prevents people without a valid social security number from getting a valid driver's license, passing a test and buying car insurance.

However, society still wants fast and inexpensive products so Colorado’s restaurant cooks, housekeepers, landscapers, graphic designers, snow removal personnel and farm workers will still drive every day without a valid driver’s license and insurance to get to work.

Does it not make sense to simply force and require ALL drivers to take an exam and have to buy car insurance before driving on our roads? I think so.

Regardless of your opinion on “illegal immigration,” the point I am making is that it’s better to have insured, safe drivers on our roads.

The pundits will still claim that giving undocumented immigrants a driver’s license would only encourage more illegal immigration.

The problem with this argument is that it is not based on fact, but rather on political sound bites.

Regardless of your position on how to fix future flows of illegal and legal immigration, the reality is that we have thousands of undocumented immigrants already in living and working in Colorado and they will drive to work every day.

And this trend will not change anytime soon.

So, do we rather have safe and insured drivers....or not?

We need Colorado lawmakers to grant people the right and decency to apply for a license, learn the rules of the road and be able to buy car insurance. This makes sense to me.

The question still remains: How will Democrats and Republicans respond to this issue in the next legislative session?

I wonder if the three Latina state senators will challenge their Party and advocate for 21st century solutions.

I also wonder if my senator, Pat Steadman, and my house representative, Crisanta Duran, will both step up to the plate and propose 21st century public safety and social justice legislation in this year’s session.

Not sure. We will see.

I am ready to be shocked and surprised. But I won't hold my breath for too long.