NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — The move to overturn a 30-year-old ban on cruising in National City has just received major boost from state lawmakers.
This comes as the city of San Jose repealed its ordinance, saying that these bans are discriminatory against Latinos and lowrider culture.
This Assembly resolution passed Monday with no opposition, encouraging cities in California to repeal their cruising ban: it's a message that supporters hope that National City leaders are listening to.
"It's a stepping stone...it is a good thing," said Jovita Arellano, co-chair of the United Lowrider Coalition in National City, dedicated to overturning the ban on cruising that has been in place city-wide since 1992.
"It's telling us that you are not welcome here," Arellano told CBS 8.
National City vice-Mayor Marcus Bush says low-rider culture has been part of National City's history since the 1950s.
"It brings families and people together," Bush said. "It is part of who we are, and unfortunately right now on the books it is being criminalized. We can't do that: we can't criminalize culture."
The coalition, which met Tuesday evening, is encouraged by the State Assembly's push to encourage cities to overturn their bans, and even more by individual cities recently doing so: including Sacramento and the city of San Jose.
"I am happy for them, and I am hopeful that it will be done here too," said National City resident Marisa Rosales, who started the movement to repeal the cruising ban in her hometown more than two decades ago.
"We are the community," she told CBS 8, "And so I am hopeful that they will see that and work with us more."
To that end, their coalition had been working with National City's mayor and city council to overturn the local ban.
Last month, they held a "test cruise" as part of a pilot program to demonstrate that cruising could be done safely: a program that was abruptly curtailed when the city said the coalition would have to pay thousands of dollars per cruise for police and city services.
While talks with the city appear to have stalled, National City's mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis told CBS 8 in a statement:
"As the official National City Lowrider Committee (which consists of Councilmember Mona Rios and myself) continues to meet and discuss next steps, we are encouraged to learn more about how communities around the state are working with law enforcement, city staff and the low rider car clubs to create a safe cruising and family friendly environment."
Jovita Arellano remains optimistic that cruising down Highland Avenue will soon be legal once again.
"That has been our goal from day one," she added. "And we are not going to stop until it happens!"
While the state Assembly has already green-lighted this resolution, the state Senate is expected to take it up when it re-convenes this August.
WATCH RELATED: Lowrider cruising is back in National City on first Friday of month through October (May 2022)