Tracy Thorne Begland, Explained

Free thinking minds all over the nation and the Commonwealth of Virginia were appalled at the recent rejection for judgeship of one Tracy Thorne-Begland. Begland would have been Virginia's first openly gay judge, and was also a veteran of the US Navy. He has been an outstanding prosecutor in his home district of Richmond Virginia. The move was seen far and wide as an act of bigotry and hate. Delegate Bob Marshall then chose to throw gasoline on the fire, coming out with a homophobic and backwards thinking interview in which he ACTUALLY SAID "Sodomy is not a civil right."

This blogger believes that he has hammered the last blue nail into Obama's victory in Virginia this November, but that is a post for another day. While my beliefs tend towards libertarian, and I am pro gay marriage and gay rights, when I take a look at the reasonings offered by select members of Virginia's legislature, this issue can certainly be seen in a different light. The misunderstanding that many people have is that a judge is a-political. A judge should have no strong convictions whatsoever that could affect their judgements. Judges are important to the legislative process, but they are NEVER meant to make the law. They are meant to interpret the law that exists and no more.

I believe that many of the reservations shown by the House of Delegates were not motivated by hate of gay people, but by a fear that Mr. Thorne-Begland would use his position on the bench to advance a particular cause over another. I believe that the legislature would strike down a devout Catholic activist as well, if the slide went all the way to the other end of the political spectrum. With Roe v. Wade in place, I would expect the legislature to strike down an ardent pro-lifer as well.

I believe that Mr. Thorne-Begland, with all of the support he has been shown, could have a very exciting run for the legislature, and there he could effect the changes he wishes to see. He just cannot do it from a jurist's bench, says Virginia. Thats just what one conservative thinks.

Outnumbered House Democrats Take Aim at Tobacco

    One Virginia House Democrat, Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) is trying to overtax one of Virginia's traditional businesses. Though Democrats are outnumbered nearly 2:1 in the House of Delegates, Hope has put forth a bill (House Bill 160) to TRIPLE state taxes on cigarettes and QUINTUPLE (thats 5x the price) the tax on other tobacco products. Does this strike anyone else as insane?

    Virginia was STARTED on tobacco. While we can all agree that cigarette smoking is harmful to a person's health, do those people not have rights as well? To try and wring EVEN MORE tax dollars out of what is already Virginia's signature crop cannot possibly work.

    Incase you've been living under a rock, taxes are bad y'all. Taxes suppress free markets, take dollars out of the hands of local businesses and consumers alike, and they set precedents. What tax will be next after this one? If, instead of Virginia sticking its hands in the pockets of consumers everywhere, we simply cut a few frivolous budget increases, Virginia smokers (and there are many of them) would not have to shell out 3 or 5 times a tax that is already too high.

    Tobacco is a thriving business in Virginia and adds jobs, revenue, and yes plenty of tax dollars to the state already. To try and smack down one of our bigger sources of jobs and money with this bill would be, well, stupid. I'm just 1 conservative, but I'm 1 against House Bill 160.