Politicians in Action

Boy, my Virginia politicians are working hard to protect me. First is the bill making cat theft a Class 5 felony, which has dairy farmers concerned, of all people:

"If it wanders off the property and they (other people) start caring for it, are they guilty of a Class 5 felony?" he asked.

Farmers, especially those with dairy cows, who often end up taking in wandering cats attracted to milk, have similar concerns.

"We wouldn't want farmers convicted of a felony for cats they don't own and aren't trying to steal," said Lindsay Potts, lobbyist for the Virginia Farm Bureau.

Then, it became critical that seatbelt violations be changed from secondary to a primary violation. Seems that notifying family members is tough on the police:

Virginia State Police Capt. Steve Chumley told the 12 senators on the committee that he has had to break news to families of a loved one killed in a car wreck, and often informs them that the person wasn't using a seat belt.

"Every single time, I realize that that person's life could have been saved if they were wearing a seat belt," Chumley said.

Yeah, and they could have been saved with 5 mph governors on cars, too, but we don't mandate that.

And finally, we have news of my legislator not introducing an unneeded law, at least for now:

Del. Paula Miller, D-Norfolk, wants to ban aluminum bats from high school baseball games, but she’s willing to wait another year to try to do it.

Miller said this morning she’s pulling a bill she introduced that would allow only wooden bats at school games because the Virginia High School League has agreed to study the issue.

How about we go all the way, and mandate that boys play softball instead of baseball? Virginia tax dollars at "work."