Letters to the Editor for Sunday, October 11, 2009

McDonnell will protect gun rights
Bob McDonnell has proven through his actions as Virginia’s attorney general that he is a strong supporter of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. 

In February 2008, he was one of 31 state attorneys general to sign the amicus brief in the historic District of Columbia v. Heller case, supporting an individual’s right to keep and bear arms.  His opponent, Creigh Deeds, were he elected governor, would attempt to restrict those rights. Deeds has already attempted in 2008 to pass a bill to restrict gun sales at gun shows and has stated that he does not believe that civilians should have access to semiautomatic rifles.

I believe that Virginians are justly proud of the rights their forefathers have fought to protect and they want a governor who will protect, not restrict, those rights. Bob McDonnell, as governor, is the man who will protect the constitutional rights of Virginians.
GEORGE W. LUEDKE
Lynchburg

For Valentine
I was intrigued by Scott Garrett’s statement in the article last weekend concerning the candidates’ sparring about taxes. That certainly was a quick grasp at taking the facts and spinning them to fit his personal position. If he has seen any of the biennial budgets, he would know that the question is not “to tax or not to tax.” It is how do we manage the resources we have to achieve our goals.

There is little question about the need to improve transportation. We witnessed a large crowd of people last week cheering the arrival of the new train service through Lynchburg. Everyone wants to join in making transportation more efficient from both a cost and an energy standpoint.

The desire to take and make sound bites about Del. Shannon Valentine does not play well on the local level, especially for those of us who see her and work with her in the neighborhoods, at the schools and in the civic arena. Valentine is a doer, not a political spin-doctor. I want a thoughtful, committed, hard worker representing me at the General Assembly.
LAURA DUPUY
Lynchburg

Whose values?
After reviewing Del. Shannon Valentine’s voting record for the past two sessions of the General Assembly, I was wondering if her values line up with the values of the majority of Lynchburg voters.

Her voting record is 60 percent on family-friendly bills. Although it is better than 43 percent of her fellow legislators, is it good enough for you? There were 46 of our 140 Virginia legislators who voted 100 percent pro-family on the above bills.

Check out the bills which she voted against. With her vote against defunding abortions, she is definitely for choice. She also voted against defunding Planned Parenthood and bringing abortion centers up to normal clinic safety standards. She did, however, vote for the bill requiring a center to tell a woman that her baby would feel pain during an abortion.

By voting against the eminent domain bill she doesnt want to protect your property rights. And, is she fiscally conservative? Will she limit government spending? Her vote against limiting budget increases is evidence that she is a tax-and-spend legislator.

She does want to protect our religious freedoms and those of the Virginia State Police chaplains, a good thing!

We can know our candidates’ true values by their voting records, and we all know that elections can have dire consequences. We must value our vote and definitely vote our values.
JANET F. STASULLI
Forest