Guns don’t help state tourism

Kenneth J. Brown Albemarle County
Published: April 13, 2008

The March 29 story in The Daily Progress about sniper shootings in Albemarle County (“2 arrested in snipings”) tells another sad and tragic story of a senseless act of gun violence in our state.

The entire country has again been given a glimpse on the national news of a society caught in the firm grip of a state legislature owned lock, stock and barrel by the gun lobby.

The single ray of light to be found in this latest weapons threat to our daily routine was the current absence of legislators in Richmond.

What did our representatives do in response to last year’s horror at Virginia Tech?
They approved a revision of state operating procedures for mental health, without sufficient finances to properly support improvements that might prevent a mentally ill person from obtaining a weapon to kill people.
Consider the plight of our beleaguered state tourist board whose task it is to entice visitors from other states and countries at a time when our tourist spending is in decline.
Must we provide our visiting guests with a list of scheduled in-state gun shows where they can easily obtain a weapon for their own defense while touring our state?
Should the tourist board revise its attractive slogan, “Virginia is for lovers,” and reflect the legislature’s view of our dangerous community?
It would need to change only a few words on the bumper sticker — “Lovers are for weapons in Virginia.”