House says guns and alcohol
do not mix
After two hours of debate,
the House of Delegates Monday rejected a bill allowing handgun owners
to carry their concealed weapons into bars and restaurants that serve
alcohol.
The Richmond
Times-Dispatch reports that the bill, which easily passed the
House Militia and Police Committee, failed on a 58-41 floor vote.
Delegate Lee Ware, R-Powhatan,
the bill's sponsor, said he aimed to repeal the state's six-year ban
on carrying concealed handguns into establishments that sell alcohol.
Several legislators said
that they support the rights of gun owners but guns and alcohol just
don't mix.
Democrats blast Gov. Gilmore's
budget
House and Senate Democrats
joined a handful of Virginian citizens in holding a press conference
to blast Gov. James S. Gilmore III’s budget.
"The average Virginians
I represent didn’t send us down here to sacrifice the present and
mortgage the future," said Delegate Barnie K. Day, D-Meadows
of Dan. [Full story by Ty Bowers]
House approves driving
restrictions for teen-agers
The House yesterday approved
a bill that increases the minimum age for learner's permits and licenses,
reports The Roanoke Times.
The bill, HB2554, increases
the age requirement for learner's permits from 15 to 15 ½, and the
age for licenses from 16 to 16 ½. It also limits drivers younger than
18 from having more than three teen-age passengers unless they are
family members.
Sponsored by Delegate James
O'Brien, R-Fairfax County, the bill resembles SB1329 and SB1330, passed
by the Senate.
House Minority Leader Richard
Cranwell, D-Vinton, said, "I think we send the wrong message to young
people when we do this kind of thing. We're not letting parents be
parents."
Senate debates 24-hour
waiting period for abortions
Virginia's Senate debated
yesterday a bill that requires women to wait for 24 hours before having
an abortion, reports The Virginian-Pilot.
Women would talk to their doctor about the procedure under the provisions
of "informed consent."
Democrats proposed about
15 amendments to the bill, including one that requires men to wait
24 hours before receiving Viagra. None passed the chamber.
The Senate will conduct
the final vote on the bill, SB1211, today. A similar bill, HB270,
passed the House Saturday, and the governor supports such legislation.
Take me away to Margaritaville
The House Monday approved
special license plates for the Parrot Head Club - the fan club of
singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett.
According to the Daily
Press of Newport News, the bill's sponsor, Delegate Robert G.
Marshall, R-Prince William, said a vote for Buffett was a vote for
political survival.
Earlier in the session,
the House approved special license plates for the Holstein dairy cow.
This prompted Delegate Leo G. Wardrup Jr., R-Virginia Beach, to suggest
the state combine the two plates under the theme of "Cheeseburger
in Paradise."
