Some but not others

The latest casualty in the political crossfire of the Virginia General Assembly this week was the failure by House Republicans to renew and expand the photo-red traffic light monitoring system that would photograph and ticket those who run red lights. It is a serious problem as each day this bad behavior causes accidents to happen and people to die.

Many times drivers think that if they are in line at the time of the green light and it changes to red they can still proceed. This is not the case, as the right-of-way changes when the light turns green. Because most intersections are free of trees for police to covertly hide behind, the enforcement of these regulations is a real problem.

Two of the city’s most dangerous intersections are within walking distance of the Monroe Park campus: Broad & Belvidere and Broad at Harrison. Red-light running is a problem gravely threatening all citizens of the commonwealth, and Republican legislators in the House of Delegates ignore it to focus on bills that will never be passed.

Take the key Republican House delegates that voted down House Bill 2105, the photo-red bill, sponsored by Delegate Michele McQuigg (R-Pr. William). In the Courts of Justice committee, where the bill died, Republican Delegates Terry Kilgore, Bill Janis and Mark Cline all voted to kill it.

Strangely, all three of these men have taken hard stances against crime, and yet they ignore a bill that could help contain it. Why? Because the “bubba” population they represent doesn’t understand anything not rooted in the Bible or God. They see anything like photo-red as being an invasion of government into the everyday lives of citizens.

Well if that’s the case, then the acorn sure doesn’t fall far from the tree. Two of the House of Delegates’ most invasive bills