All results / Stories / Kenneth%20R.%20%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BDKen%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD%20Plum,%20State%20Delegate%20(D-36)
Column: Clash of Ideas and Ideals
As the General Assembly nears its midpoint for consideration of proposed legislation, the fissures of differences among the many stakeholders who have interests before the law-making body become evident. The clash of interests is much more complex than House v. Senate, Republicans v. Democrats, or rural v. suburban. Differences in ideas and ideals make compromise challenging.
Column: Over a Cup of Coffee
My pre-session public hearings are always informative. The hearings help me gauge public opinion on a variety of issues. And constituents provide excellent suggestions on state government.
Leave It to the Feds
Despite Virginia’s historic antipathy toward the federal government, the Commonwealth has nonetheless historically ceded decisions to federal authorities on major issues on which the state had been unwilling to move forward. Another issue is about to fall into this category: same-sex marriage.
Saved by the Feds
Commentary
As I wrote in a column several months ago, Virginia has historically ceded decisions to federal authorities on major issues on which the state had been unwilling to move forward, despite the Commonwealth's historic antipathy toward the federal government.
Opinion: Commentary: Changing Images of Virginia
On the east side of Capitol Square near the Executive Mansion in Richmond is the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial featuring 16-year-old Barbara Johns who led the student walkout that resulted in a civil rights case before the Supreme Court as part of Brown v. Board of Education that found racially-segregated schools to be unconstitutional.
Commentary: Congress in Clutches of NRA
Before I criticize the lack of action on the part of the U.S. Senate on modest gun measures last week, I will freely admit that the Virginia General Assembly is clearly in the clutches of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The last several years have seen a steady decline in Virginia’s attempt to reduce gun violence but without my support or vote. Most recently the General Assembly repealed the limitation on handgun purchases. The problem of gun violence is nationwide and appropriately should be addressed by the U.S. Congress. Opinion polls indicate overwhelming support for congressional action, especially as it relates to criminal background checks. At the same time, incidents involving gun violence continue to mount up.
Column: Crossover
Last week was "crossover" for the General Assembly- the time when each house of the legislature must complete consideration of bills introduced into its chamber.
Column: Redistricting Reform Needed
A federal court found Virginia’s congressional redistricting to be unconstitutional because it diluted the strength of minorities in elections.
Column: The Climate is Changing
“Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” according to a report, Climate Change Impacts in the United States, that was released this year and that includes the findings of 300 experts affiliated with the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee (http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/).
Commentary: Virginia’s Reputation as a Gun-Running State Returns
A headline in the New York Times in December, 1992 proclaimed that “Virginia Aims to Shed Image as a ‘Handgun Supermarket.’”
Opinion: Commentary: Beyond Equality to Equitable Funding of Our Schools
Passing by the elementary and high schools I attended as a youngster was a small yellow bus carrying about six children to a school 12 miles away in Luray. They were black children who by the constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia were prohibited from attending school with white children.
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