Fear and Loathing

 Fear and Loathing in Richmond

There’s fear by some Virginia’s legislators that the public – you know, the ones who pay taxes – might discover some unsavory things about the 300,000 Virginians who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

There’s loathing by some Virginia lawmakers of the public, the media and the radical, screaming liberals who want the records of individuals who hold a permit for a concealed disclosed, as has been for decades.

Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, is a classic case.

He said that taking guns from citizens is what led to the Holocaust and mass killings under the Soviet Gulag.

He needs a history lesson.

"Those who put the Second Amendment into the fabric of our nation understood that a government that is formed and instituted by free people trust its citizens with the right to defend themselves with arms," Gilbert said.

Actually, none of us know what the Founding Fathers intended, so the Second Amendment has been subject to controversy and legal jibber-jabber for more than two centuries.

Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said the amended bill would protect the privacy and safety of law-abiding gun owners.

I’m not sure how he knows that all those 300,000 Virginians who hold a concealed weapon permit are law abiding citizens.

He and other supporters want a ban on the disclosure of Virginians who hold a concealed weapon permit.

The bill, originally introduced to include just individuals in protective custody (a responsible response), was expanded to encompass all permit holders (an irresponsible reaction). It now will be considered by the Virginia Senate.

And, finally, Gilbert’s skewed hyperbole.

Gilbert said such disclosures stigmatize law-abiding gun owners "like they belong on some list of people to be watched, like sex offenders."

Why not?

What’s there to hide?

Lists abound for the public. Food inspections, mortgage brokers and lenders, property buyers and sellers, building permits, tax delinquencies…So on and so forth. To protect society at large, not a special interest group.

Even municipalities sold the names and addresses of tax payers to marketing companies at one time (I don’t know if they still do.) And I wonder if municipalities are prohibited from selling the list of permit holders to gun dealers.

Again, the same question: what’s there to hide? 

The Balloon

Norfolk City Council is floating a trial balloon.

Proposed raising the real estate tax by two cents to $1.13 per $100 of the assessed value while clawing back tax relief for the elderly.

See if Norfolk’s residents will start a movement or just sit by complacently and let Council mettle.

Here’s another tactic.

Appeal to supporters of education, parents, teachers, the school system by saying the tax increase will support the construction of four new schools instead of two.

Who can deny that logic?

In one corner, the city buys property for $800,000 while giving up property for $2 million less than the assessed value. 


In the other corner, propose raising the tax on real estate.

My proposal – the city should start releasing on its web site a monthly breakdown of expenses and revenues.

Open the checkbook, city officials.