All results / Stories / Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, State Delegate (D-36)
Marriage Equality Moves Forward
As one who has worked on human rights issues for many decades, I am excited about the positive changes that are occurring at such a rapid pace in laws and in peoples’ attitudes about sexual orientation, especially same-sex marriage. Most of the people I talk to under age 30 don’t understand why this is even an issue. Unfortunately because of some of my colleagues in the legislature, action by federal courts will be necessary to bring about changes in the law. As time passes there will continue to be residual harsh and discriminatory feelings on the part of a minority who cling to the past as there has been with every advance in civil rights, but most will look back in bewilderment over what people were thinking in refusing to grant the same rights to all people.
Commentary: The Right to Bear Arms
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is one sentence long: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Opinion: Commentary: Hate Has No Place Here
The outpouring of generosity in our community during the COVID-19 pandemic has been incredible. I continue to learn of people who have responded in remarkable ways to the needs that have been brought on by the quarantine or that have been recognized as a result of our having to stay home.
Opinion: Commentary: Mark and John and Amendment One
When the then underdog Mark Warner, whose only experience in political life had been to chair the Democratic Party of Virginia and manage the successful campaign of Doug Wilder for governor, had the courage in 1996 to take on senior senator John Warner in his re-election bid, Mark Warner’s bumper sticker read, “Mark, not John.”
Opinion: Commentary: Keep History from Repeating Itself
So traumatizing were the colonists’ experiences with King George as a strong executive that the Declaration of Independence is filled with grievances against him, and the writers of the first state constitution in Virginia limited the governor’s term to one year with a maximum of three terms.
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.
Circus Comes to Town
I am going to be taking two of my grandchildren to the Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Richmond Coliseum tonight. It is really amazing how quickly the circus can move into its venue; amaze, entertain and hold in suspense its audience; and then pack up and move on. Just a few blocks from the Coliseum, the General Assembly opened at the State Capitol the second week in January and will pack up this week and members will go back home. For the last six weeks the 140 members of the House of Delegates and State Senate along with their staff and about a thousand lobbyists have been holding forth on Capitol Square for the annual legislative session. The agenda is serious, and the activities over the past several weeks have been humorous, suspenseful and in a term used by the circus ringmaster, “unbelievable.”
Column: A Letter from Sandy Hook
On the fourteenth of each month, the anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, I join dozens of others at a vigil at the National Rifle Association headquarters to remind everyone of the need for sensible gun safety measures. After the most recent vigil, I got an email from Erin Nikitchyuk which I share with her permission to remind us of how we all need to be concerned about this issue.
Opinion: Commentary: Vote Yes on Amendment #1
In a campaign that promises “fair maps” by voting yes for Amendment #1 on the ballot this election cycle and the opposition that promises “fair districts” by voting no, there is little wonder that there would be confusion in the minds of voters.
Commentary
Where Is the Outrage?
Aaron Alexis exercised his constitutional right to bear arms when he carried his shotgun and pistols to work with him at the Washington Navy Yard where he proceeded to shoot 12 other people before the police shot him in what the Washington Post termed a “rampage.” The pattern is becoming all too familiar: You get ticked off at someone or something; you get yourself a really big gun that a lot of people are spending a lot of money and time to ensure you can purchase as easily as possible; you vent your anger by shooting a lot of people; and you get put out of your misery when the police shoot you. If it sounds like a familiar story line, it’s because you’ve heard it many times—Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson, Aurora, Newtown, and now the Washington Navy Yard to name just a few of the sprees in recent years.
Commentary: The Battle to Insure Everyone
Last week saw the beginning of a federal government shut-down—at least a partial shut-down. Even the most ardent of the angry fringe element that subverted the Congressional legislative process to cause the partial shut-down seemed willing to admit that there were some “essential” services of government that needed to continue. To be able to use the words “essential” and “government” in the same sentence is a step forward for some people who severely criticize government for whatever it does or does not do and for whatever happens or does not happen. There is still a wide chasm to bridge between what is considered necessary for the government to do and what should be left to individuals. Health care is at that juncture. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the law of the land that has been passed by the Congress, signed by the president, reviewed and approved as constitutional by the Supreme Court, and was a key issue in a campaign in which the president was re-elected by more than five million votes. While some would argue with the details of the Affordable Care Act, it is clear that as a country we have taken a stand that each individual is entitled access to health insurance regardless of whether their employer provides it. A small but vocal minority in the Republican Party disagrees and has decided to block the ability of the federal government to pay its bills as they try to get their way on stopping a law they have been unable to overturn in 40 attempts.
Column: Our Civic Duty
Commentary
A basic tenet of all levels of civic education is that citizens should vote. We are told of the importance of voting in social studies classes, scouting, and in community groups. Yet, a surprisingly large number of people never learn the lesson. Voter participation in the United States is abysmal when compared to other countries, and Virginia is one of the worst among the states.
Column: Making the Grade
At a time when quality reviews and accountability measures result in more activities being given a letter grade, it is appropriate that legislative sessions receive the same treatment. At the risk of seeming to cop-out, I give the session an "I" for incomplete because we have not yet completed the basic requirement of passing a biennium budget in the even-numbered years. We are back in Richmond in special session now to meet that requirement. Taking the budget out of the equation, I would give the session a "B"—a higher grade than I would have given sessions in recent years. Some important work got done. Growing out of the recent tragedy of Senator Deed’s family and with lingering memories of Virginia Tech, mental health laws were strengthened. Legislation extends the time a person can be held involuntarily under a temporary detention order from 48 to 72 hours. The state will maintain a "real time" online registry of available psychiatric beds in public and private hospitals. Emergency custody orders will be extended from six to 12 hours with the state assuming responsibility to find a bed for a patient after eight hours. A four-year study will be undertaken to determine what other reforms are needed.
Opinion: Commentary: Virginia’s Largest Industry
Virginia’s largest private industry is agriculture with an economic impact of $70 billion annually and 334,000 jobs.
Opinion: Commentary: Rewriting the Constitution of Virginia
The celebration of the fourth of July this week reminds us that not only did the colonies in America break free from the Mother Country in 1776, but they embarked on a course of independence that included written constitutions.
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