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The General Assembly was too busy with nonsense in the last session Date published: 3/4/2007
G RAFTON--As the dust from the Even with an election looming around the corner, members of both houses failed to muster the courage to make the tough decisions on tax reform, education, and health care, and required a frantic, last minute, Hail Mary-type push to get the controversial transportation compromise through both houses--and it came only after record-length legislative sessions and almost two years of bickering. Not surprisingly, many Virginians have begun to wonder, "What exactly is going on in Richmond?" The answers may surprise you. While a small portion of the 3,369 bills filed in the General Assembly this session were the common-sense, forward-thinking solutions that Virginians deserve and elected officials promise, the majority of bills, frankly, were poor excuses for legislation. Some were alarmingly partisan and sought only to injure the other party; others obviously aimed at helping well-financed interest groups; still others defied logic and common sense altogether. These bills slow the already sloth-like pace of lawmaking and distract legislators from the real issues. ludicrous lawmakersFor example, in the House of Delegates, Del. Melanie Rapp (R-Yorktown) proposed two bills to outlaw the use of the leftmost lanes on highways except when passing other vehicles or in emergencies. Rather than dedicate more money to road construction or enact limits to contain overdevelopment and suburban sprawl, Del. Rapp's bill suggested that our transportation woes can be alleviated if drivers just stick to the right lane. Fortunately for drivers everywhere, Del. Rapp's "solution" failed to leave committee and was left out of the ultimate transportation compromise bill. Bills of questionable merit were not limited to the House of Delegates, though, as demonstrated by Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (D-Henry), who sponsored a bill that would increase the penalty for cockfighting to a Class 6 felony. While most Virginians would be surprised to learn that our beloved commonwealth has become such a mecca of cockfighting that the GA needed to increase the penalties, the Committee on Appropriations did not agree; much like Del. Rapp's legislation, the cockfighting bill failed to fight its way out
Date published: 3/4/2007
COCK FIGHTERS ARE HARD WORKING CITIZENS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE NO ONE SEEMS TO HAVE A problem with them killing chickens to eat. hunting is worse because you put guns and dogs on deer and fighting chickens it is chicken vs chicken same weight
i think you have missed the point of this article. Yes, chickens are beautiful and lovely creatures, but deliberating the need for more harsh penalties of a rare breed of entertainment rather than focus on the truly important issues at hand is a slap in the face to the tax-paying citizens of this great commonwealth. If the GA wants to put the rights of the suffering battle bird over those of the people, maybe we have the wrong people in office.
Why was cockfighting included in the list of bills of "questionable merit"? When thirty-three other states in the country have felony laws against cockfighting, there must be a reason for it, which is this: cockfighitng is bald-faced animal cruelty, pure and simple. What kind of twisted mind finds entertainment in watching animals rip each other to shreds? Virginia needs to wizen up and pass a felony law to keep this crap out of our communities.
Let me say I agree with most of what was said. Cock fighting however deals with more that what you see on face value. It also deals with illegal gambling, drugs and animal cruelty. I find it hard to believe that believe that at the very least these three crimes of themselves dont warrant a felony charge. The birds natural skin is cut without pain killers but they give them drugs to buff them up. Gambling just goes with the sports. Do you want this in your back yard?
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