You gotta love Waldo's latest effort, RichmondSunlight. Easy to use and easy to follow what our favorite, and not so favorite, friends in Richmond are up to. I can't help but wonder how long it'll be until we see a bill that outlaws such websites. But I digress...Today's issue is about various bills that have the commonwealth screwing around with everyone's sex lives. This is by no means a comprehensive look at such intrusions, just some bills that caught my eye while browsing the list.
Bob Marshall HB1661
Adultery; definition.Hahahahaha. I wonder how many Adult websites Bob had to visit to learn such words. On a more serious note, shouldn't we, as a society, be long past the days that the government is involved in such matters? It's between the husband and wife, their lover(s), and their lawyers. Leave it at that, Bob.
Any person, being married, who voluntarily shall have sexual intercourse with carnal knowledge of any male or female person not his or her spouse shall be guilty of adultery, punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor.For the purposes of this section, "carnal knowledge" includes the acts of sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus, and anal intercourse.
Emphasis of abstinence in family life curricula.Ok, there are some reasonable aspects to this bill. Young men and women learning about "family life" (hmmm, I guess some people can't even say the word "sex") should know about disease and the responsibility of parenthood. But no doubt Scott would like these additions as a way to scare the crap out of would be fornicators. But "abstinence is the accepted norm"? A recent study shows "More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people were more chaste in the past".
Requires that any family life education course including a discussion of sexual intercourse emphasize that abstinence is the accepted norm and the only guarantee against unwanted pregnancy. The bill also requires that family life courses include materials that emphasize honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage; provide information on the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases; inform students on laws addressing child support obligations and the unlawfulness of sexual relations between unmarried persons; and advise students on ways to avoid unwanted sexual advances and resist negative peer pressure. Further, the bill provides that students may opt out of family life courses if a parent or guardian submits a written objection and clarifies that parents have the right to review any family life curriculum, whether such curriculum is mandatory or optional.
Bob Marshall HB1663
Constitutional rights; invocation in domestic relations cases.Again with the Adultery thing. See the RichmondSunlight link for more commentary.
Provides that the invocation of a constitutional right in a civil action brought under Title 20 may be used against the party invoking this right. The effect will be to revive the application of the "sword and shield" doctrine in civil actions brought under Title 20. Currently, parties in divorce cases are able to invoke their right against self-incrimination, typically in response to allegations of adultery, without an adverse inference being drawn against them.
Bob Marshall HB1199
Requirements for prescribing oral contraceptives for minors; penalty. Requires any practitioner having prescriptive authority who prescribes an oral contraceptive to a minor without consent of a parent or legal guardian to review the minor's drug profile and health record, including any drugs and conditions being treated by other practitioners, to determine that such drug profile and health record do not include any current prescriptions for or indicate the likelihood of the issuance of prescriptions for controlled substances to the minor that are known to interact with oral contraceptives, such as, but not limited to, antibiotics. If the minor receiving a prescription for an oral contraceptive without a parent's or legal guardian's consent suffers an interaction, including, but not limited to, pregnancy, as a result of taking a prescription drug that the physician knew or should have known would be prescribed for her, the practitioner issuing the prescription for the oral contraceptive to the minor without a parent's or legal guardian's consent will be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class 6 felony.Pregnancy is a drug interaction? If I'm reading this correctly, if a minor who is taking an antibiotic and a prescription contraceptive gets pregnant, the practitioner has committed a felony? This is crap - and that's before mentioning all the road blocks and difficulties set in place before a contraceptive can even be prescribed. Doesn't Bob want to stop unwanted pregnancies? Oh, oops, I forgot about Scott's bill above that'll set all these minors straight. After that "family life" education none of them will be engaging in "carnal knowledge" (see Bob's definition above).
Meanwhile, a bill that might actually be beneficial to the youth of Virginia gets whacked in committee...
Roslyn Tyler HB1593
Childhood obesity; prevention and reduction in public schools.
Requires the Board of Education to promulgate, in cooperation with the State Health Department, regulations establishing standards to facilitate the prevention and reduction of childhood obesity in the public schools. This bill also requires division superintendents to complete instruction concerning the causes and consequences of overweight and obese students, and the relationship between nutrition, health, and learning by July 1, 2008. The requirement for instruction may be satisfied by attendance at conferences, seminars, or in-service training.
Is there any doubt we need a new set of legislators in Richmond?
Why does that mean he's contridicting himself? Well, that's easy.
1. It is widely believed by Christians that Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant with Jesus.Obviously Mary was in a unique position because she gave birth to a child who is believed to be the son of God. However unlikely it is that another person might do something similar in the future, there is still the chance that it might. Therefore, Lingamfelter must decide whether he believes option 1 or option 2 to be true. He can't have it both ways.2. Lingamfelter's bill states that abstinence is the "only guarantee against unwanted pregnancy."
3. If number 1 is true, then Lingamfelter was clearly incorrect that abstinence is a guarantee that a person won't become pregnant.
Yes, this is posted in a light hearted manner. But it is rather interesting if you stop and think about it.