Go Legends

Let the national ridicule begin

This from Rachel Maddow at MSNBC:



Hat tip to Page 1.

Stein to Shoot Down Guns-on-campus Bill

Kathy Stein says Bob Damron's campus gun totin' bill (HB 114) won't get past her committee. Good.

Jody Richards says it won't get past him either. Doubly good.

Damron dangles universtiy presidents with the Bond Bill. Typical.


This (and photo) from the Courier-Journal:

Campus gun bill is likely to die

Various officials oppose proposal

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill that would allow people to bring guns onto college campuses -- and use them if they were threatened -- may die in a legislative committee amid growing concerns by educators and others.

"This is a really bad idea," said Centre College President John Roush, whose private college in Danville bans firearms. "It would run counter to our tradition and the principles on which we operate our community."

Other university presidents also oppose House Bill 114. And while it has more than 50 co-sponsors in the 100-member House, it is stuck in the Judiciary Committee because the chairwoman opposes it.

Rep. Kathy Stein, a Lexington Democrat who heads the committee, said HB 114 is "way too broad" and she doesn't plan to call it for a committee hearing or vote.

Kentucky law allows post-secondary schools to ban firearms on their campuses. HB 114, sponsored by Rep. Robert Damron, D-Nicholasville, would change that.

It would let people bring guns to campus in their vehicles and also would apply to other university property, such as sports arenas or hospitals. In addition, gun owners could remove firearms from their vehicles to defend themselves, their property or someone else.

Damron supported past successful gun legislation, including Kentucky's concealed carry law. He said in an interview that he simply wants to allow responsible gun owners to keep their weapons in their cars when they drive to work or school.

"This is not a big deal," he said...

...Stein's plan not to hear the bill angered Damron, who accused her in an interview of "sticking a knife" in his eye and called her "gun control Sally." Stein said she believes Damron's comments were "inappropriate" but added that she's not upset. "I have a very thick skin. I've been called worse by better." ...

...Some critics said the bill could lead to "road rage" incidents on campuses similar to the 2007 shooting in a Louisville parking lot that left a man brain damaged after he and another driver pulled guns at a stop sign...

...The presidents of Kentucky's public universities generally have limited their comments on the bill to saying they want to retain the authority to ban guns on their campuses...

...Stein said university officials may be worried about offending Damron, who also is sponsor of a bill that would allow state universities to issue bonds for construction projects without state approval. That's something major universities have been desperately seeking in recent years.

Stein called it "inappropriate" to link the two issues.

Damron said the public universities' opposition to the gun bill shows they are "out of step" with public opinion and could well affect whether lawmakers decide to approve the bond bill...

...Damron said that if he can't get the bill sent to a more favorable committee, he may try to force a vote on the House floor without a committee hearing by getting at least 25 lawmakers to sign a discharge petition...

...But House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green said he won't remove the bill from Stein's committee -- where it was sent by House leadership -- and doesn't
support it....

Damron's on-campus gun lunacy

Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville is surprised by opposition to his plan to increase the number of deadly weapons on our college campuses.

"I never imagined this was going to be a major battle," Damron told the Herald-Leader.

But Damron's lack of imagination is the least of his problems. In this case, his single-minded devotion to the National Rifle Association's wild west agenda yields a casual disregard for the safety of our students and the campus community.

Opposition from numerous (if not all) Kentucky university presidents lead to a blanket accusition from Damron that Kentucky colleges have become "bastions of liberalism." Oooooooooo.

But just how is Damron's brilliant solution supposed to work?

Damron fantasizes that he's protecting folks who work at the University of Kentucky who may be afraid of walking to their cars in the dark after work.

His solution is to put more guns on campus - while keeping the guns that might protect his constituents while they walk to their cars just out of their reach.

Or perhaps he envisions shootouts in the parking lot, where the issue isn't whether you have a gun, but whether yours is big enough.

If HB 114 passes, I'm thinking about sending my daughter to school with body armor and an assault rifle with a big clip.

Eastern Kentucky University President Doug Whitlock who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon told H-L that before he would support a change in the weapon ban, "I would have to be convinced that having firearms on campus contributes to safety rather than adding to the risk."

Me too. And I'm decidedly not convinced this move would protect my daughter, or my students, in the least.

To become law, the House Bill 114 would have to get past Kathy Stein, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who objects to "meddling in the affairs of the universities and community and technical colleges..."

Damron hopes to work around Stein. And began laying groundwork by bestowing on Stein the moniker "gun-control Sally." To augment his name-calling offensive he is bringing in a professional NRA arm-twister next week.

But Stein should shoot down House Bill 114. She should shoot it dead.

Kathy Stein to sponsor Creepy Teacher Bill

The Herald-Leader reports that Representative Kathy Stein, (D) Lexington, will take over sponsorship of former Rep J R Gray's ...what? ...Creepy Teacher bill?

The bill (not yet drafted) seeks to criminalize the behavior of teachers and aides who prey sexually on their 16 and 17-year old charges. The approach seems to be focused on the age of consent rather than a straightforward declaration that being a teacher confirs a higher standard of behavior on all who act in loco parentis and would punish those who abuse their trust with any P-12 child. I assume there are sound legal reasons for the approach.

It is also unclear if the bill will cover other classes of "teachers," such as clergy, counselors and others.

In any case, thank you Kathy.
~
This from the Herald-Leader

Key lawmaker takes over bill to

criminalize teacher-student sex

FRANKFORT, Ky. --A key lawmaker will champion proposed legislation that would criminalize sex between teachers and older teens who are not protected by Kentucky's age-of-consent law.

State Rep. Kathy Stein, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, took responsibility for the legislation after its originator resigned to take a job in the Gov. Steve Beshear's fledgling administration.

"Boys and girls, when they have a teacher or an aide in a position of authority, are extremely vulnerable, and they deserve protection from that," she said.

Sexual misconduct allegations led states across the country to take action against the teaching licenses of 2,570 educators from 2001 through 2005, according to a seven-month Associated Press investigation, the results of which were published in October. Young people were the victims in at least 1,801 of the cases, and more than 80 percent of those were students.

In Kentucky, officials handled nearly 100 instances of teacher sexual misconduct over the five-year-period the AP reviewed, ranging from minor violations like using sexual language to more serious, criminal acts such as inappropriate touching and even sodomy and rape...

...The Kentucky legislation would be aimed at adults who abuse their positions of authority to draw teens into sexual relationships. The bill, however, exempts married couples, even when an underage spouse is married to an adult...