Bob Marshall’s Opening Salvo
By Greg L | 3 December 2008 | 13th HOD District, Virginia Politics | 8 Comments
Via the Virginia Citizen’s Defense League, here’s some interesting insight by Delegate Bob Marshall on how Speaker Bill Howell consigns pro-Second Amendment bills to the House of Delegate’s “Death Star” subcomittee in order to get them killed. Is this the opening salvo of another effort to replace the Speaker? With Marshall’s strong run for the Republican nomination for Senate this year, he certainly has the support of a pretty substantial segment of the Republican party, although whether that will translate into support from his colleagues in the House of Delegates isn’t clear yet.
Below is an email that Delegate Bob Marshall has sent out to his constituents about shenanigans that were pulled last year by the
Speaker of the House, Delegate Bill Howell.Actually, VCDL has been telling you that the Speaker’s fingerprints are all over the demise of many pro-gun bills over the last few years,
but this is confirmation from an “insider.”It is important for you to understand that the Speaker of the House in Virginia is the most powerful Speaker in the United States. He has
immense powers, including setting up the committees, subcommittees and determining the makeup of the committees and subcommittees. He even picks the members of the committees and subcommittees from the OTHER PARTY!!So committees and subcommittees can be stacked however the Speaker pleases. That is true legislative power that is mind blowing.
A few years ago, strong, but politically incorrect pro-gun bills were killed in the House by sending them to subcommittee #3 of the Militia,
Police, and Public Safety Committee. We refer to subcommittee #3 as the “Death Star” subcommittee because Speaker Howell assigned 3 anti-gun Democrats and 2 pro-gun Republicans to the subcommittee. Virtually any pro-gun bill that ended up there was doomed to die by a
vote of 3 to 2 against the bill - and that they did, including College Carry and others.The Speaker’s scheme was to ensure the best pro-gun legislation died at the hands of the anti-gun Democrats in the Death Star subcommittee. (Those anti-gun Democrats should not be forgotten, either: Delegates Jim Scott, Paula Miller, and Roslyn Tyler.)
When VCDL complained to the Republican Leadership bitterly about pro-gun bills going to the Death Star subcommittee, they stopped going
there. BUT, pro-gun bills from the 2008 session simply DISAPPEARED. They were never heard in a subcommittee nor in any committee. They just dried up and blew away to parts unknown!Yet another reminder of the power of the Speaker. In essence he has a pocket veto. He puts the bill in his pocket and it is never heard
from again.
So much for your voice being heard and pro-gun bills even getting a fair hearing.
Many Delegates are dismayed by the “disappearing bills” phenomenon, but Delegate Marshall wasn’t afraid to go against his Party to protest
what he sees as an injustice.Here is Delegate Bob Marshall’s email to his constituents (which was initiated by a constituent request for legislation on repealing the
restaurant ban and allowing carry in K-12 schools by CHP holders):
I have long supported responsible gun owners to secure concealed carry permits. Back in the 1990’s I opposed the gun a month law which
passed anyway, I supported a revamping of Virginia’s concealed carry law, and I opposed amendments weakening concealed carry rights.In 2005 I voted for HB 2535 which allows the holder of a valid concealed handgun permit to possess a concealed handgun on school
property while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular access or exit from the school.And in 2008 I voted for SB 476 which allowed concealed handgun permit holders to enter a restaurant where alcohol is served but which
prohibits a person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a restaurant or club from consuming an alcoholic beverage while on
the premises.In 2008 I and Del. Gilbert introduced concealed carry bills. I would have voted for HB 1371 (Gilbert) which prohibits a state entity, including the board of visitors of a state institution of higher education, from prohibiting the possession of a handgun on state property by a person with a valid concealed handgun permit, unless expressly authorized by statute to adopt such a rule, regulation, or policy. This is directed primarily at state college Boards of Visitors which have prohibited concealed carry permit holders who are students from exercising concealed carry rights on a campus.
Additionally, I introduced HB 424 which allows full-time faculty members of state institutions of higher education who possess a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun on campus.
However, Republican Speaker Bill Howell made it very clear he did not want these bills considered, and Militia and Police Chair Beverly
Sherwood refused to call our bills up for a hearing. Del. Gilbert and I held a press conference at the end of the 2008 session and criticized Speaker Howell for this gag rule he imposed on our concealed carry bills.Republican Majority leader Morgan Griffith said the bills would have failed if they were reported to the floor. But his statement does not
square with his own actions in pulling a bill from the House floor when I offered an amendment to another bill which would have allowed
professors to carry on campus.When I was not in the House Chamber because of a previously scheduled meeting in Northern Virginia, Del. Griffith called up the bill I
wanted to amend and it passed without my proposed concealed carry amendment.What I am saying is that I am not hopeful the Republican leadership will assist us in this matter.
There is the additional problem that Speaker Bill Howell in 2008 pushed for and secured a House Rules change which limits all delegates
to only introducing 15 bills per year. I talked to the Speaker about this at the Clemson-UVA game, Saturday, November 22. He told me no
one ever asked him to introduce more than 15 bills, and that he saw no reason that any House of Delegates member should be allowed to
introduce more than 15 bills. I disagreed with him, pointing out that I have more registered voters than some Virginia state Senate districts.I voted AGAINST this rule change and another one which provided for secret votes in sub-committees and was punished by Speaker Howell by being denied a committee chairmanship, removed as vice chair from a committee I had been on since 1992 and was subject to other “penalties.”
You may want to contact Speaker Howell and Del. Griffith to let them know of your concerns about the way they are handling concealed carry bills, and their support for limits on the number of bills members may introduce.
They can be reached at: delwhowell@house.state.va.us and delmgriffith@house.state.va.us
The state senate has no such rules limiting the number of bills senators may introduce.
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
PS Below is a news article from the Collegiate Times on the press conference Del Gilbert and I held.
Tabled concealed carry legislation sparks debate
by Gordon Block, CT news reporter
Tuesday, March 4, 2008; 11:20 AMRICHMOND — New legislation from two Virginia state delegates has caused controversy following recent incidents at college campuses nationwide. The legislation, HB 424 and HB 1371, introduced by delegates Robert Marshall (R-13) and Todd Gilbert (R-15), would allow faculty members to carry weapons into classrooms.
Both HB 424 and HB 1371 were left in committee, meaning that the bills have been killed for the 2008 session. Marshall and Gilbert came together for a press conference with members of the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Monday morning. At the conference both legislators defended the ability for professors to carry weapons.
“You entrust your son or daughter’s with them for their future training, and they should be trusted enough so we can say ‘You can do this,’” Marshall said.
Gilbert noted the ability for citizens to protect themselves in violent situations.
“Bad guys will carry guns no matter what,” Gilbert said. “Armed citizens can stop shootings.”
Gilbert blasted the Virginia Tech Review Panels’ assertion that more guns would have caused confusion during the shootings on April 16.
“I find this to be a shameful exercise of political correctness,” Gilbert said. “The statement is based on pure emotion.”
Also addressed were the fears that instructors would become targets of violence as a result of their ability to carry guns.
“There’s nothing that puts an X on their forehead,” Marshall said.Representatives from Students for Concealed Carry on Campus also spoke out on the issue. “If I pay money to go to a school I should be able to protect myself,” said Logan Metesh, a sophomore historic preservation major and student leader for SCCC at the University of Mary Washington.
Other students echoed those feelings.
“If I’m walking on campus, I can defend myself,” said Lyndsay George, sophomore English major at Virginia Tech.
Also mentioned was that those with concealed weapons permits are heavily accredited.
“People who do carry concealed guns are responsible and certified,” George said.
Student supporters of the legislation called for those against the bill to consider the logic behind the bills.
“Those who are against the bills should check their facts and think about it,” Metesh said.
Others asked for people to understand the issue.
“People opposed to the legislation are doing so for emotional rather than practical means,” George said.
However, some universities, like Tech, do not agree with the newly proposed legislation.
“We don’t believe guns belong on the campus or in the classroom,” said Larry Hincker, associate vice president of university relations.
Others have questioned whether or not it would be effective.
“You can pro and con it all day, but it’s not going to solve the problem. There are too many factors to make it a clear yes or no
answer,” said Jasper Cooke, member of the board of directors for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement administrators.The current session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourns Saturday, March 8, and will reconvene for an additional session April 16.
I wish I could feel more hopeful about an effort by Marshall to get some reform in favor of allowing some of these issues to be considered by the House, as they would at least get elected officials on record about where they stand during an election year. As long as the Speaker can prevent bills from being considered, we’ve got a problem no matter how good his intentions. We need votes on these bills, and Speaker Howell should be among the loudest voices calling for those votes.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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Video of part of Marshall’s and Gilbert’s press conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgJgV1um1b0
If a conservative dem ran against howell i would support them
There’s one thing that Howell has that Marshall doesn’t, which could stop a challenge for Speaker: Money. Howell has a PAC, that spreads lots of money around during the state elections. Those who have benefitted from cash injections that helped get them elected, would be loyal to Howell. I’m talking about some very principled delegates who would be forced to chose. I am not saying that none wouldn’t back Marshall, but I fear enough would back Howell that Bob would come close, but not close enough.
However, many have made the mistake of underestimating Bob Marshall in the past. I am one of them. I like Bob, and the principles for which he stands are solid. I voted for him at the senate convention in Richmond. He came close, but not close enough to take out the establishment candidate, Gilmore. Maybe this time.
The last time I checked. One doesn’t ‘check at the door of any public house’ ones Constitutional and God given rights. All this marlarkey re this law, and that law is just BS. The Constitution is superior over all other laws inacted. The only legal recorse any jurisdiction has, ‘ is to add’ to a constitutional right, not take away from it!
We would all do ourselves a great justice favor, if we would stop this useless bickering re our rights and demand, knowing that the jury of the public, came back and the judge asked that the finding be read. This public jury ruled in favor of the 2nd Amendment, oh, back around the late seventeen hundreds, that my friends made it the law of the land. Not just in a few designated places either.
The concept of violence and the remedy is, one: Is there a ‘threat’ to your health, and welfare, or the public at large? two: Are the ‘means’ present to carry out that threat? three: Does the ‘opportuntiy’ exist to carry out the threat with the means available to accomplish same?
If the answer is in the positive for these three stipulations, the remedy is?
Now ask a liberal word smith, if he can envision a situation where by the above, is moot, and your life may not be at risk. Believe me he/she will be able to structure a group of words to BS his/her way, where you, and others will/shall believe it.
Remember, ‘Threat, Means and Opportunity’ These are the key steps for you to be able to react to save, your life, even the life of liberal, though I’m not sure I would. But I would have a group of words to justify, not doing it.
This in no way should be construed as legal advice, it’s what my Grandfather taught all his children, he learned from his father and his father learned from Tom Jefferson.
@Flavius Maximus
I think that’s one reason that Marshall created a leadership PAC after the Senate nomination was concluded to spread some money around during state and local elections.
Petition to STOP RealID from being put into effect in Virginia.
http://www.gopetition.com/online/23752.html
Whereas, The national ID card called for in Dangerous ID, the so-called Real ID Act of 2005, is repressive, invasive, and unconstitutionally violating the fourth amendment right of the people to be secure; and
Whereas, The dangerous implications of this federal mandate include privacy concerns, expensive compliance costs for states and federal meddling in states’ rights; and,
Whereas, “Dangerous ID” has been unadvisedly promoted as a deterrent to terrorism and illegal immigration, but would not resolve either of those problems as evidenced by the fact that several of the September 11th hijackers used legitimate driver’s licenses; and
Whereas, If “Dangerous ID” is placed in force, illegal aliens would potentially have a national database from which to buy and sell illegal identification; and
Whereas, The “Dangerous ID” requires a digital photo and biometric identifiers on each license, and potentially include an RFID chip storing that information to a federal database to be shared with all 50 states, thereby turning “Dangerous ID” into a gold mine for identity thieves; and
Whereas, This $11 billion endeavor could limit law-abiding citizens the uncompromised freedom to travel, open a bank account, secure employment or purchase a firearm; and
Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia is already straining under the weight of federal bureaucratic compliance costs would be further burdened by additional expense; and
Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia will experience difficulty paying for massive computer systems to hook up to a federal database and complying by the December 2009 deadline; and
Whereas, the Virginia Liberty Defense has formed a coalition of groups calling for House and Senate bills to be enacted to prohibit the implementation of the “Dangerous ID” in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and
Whereas, Public outcry against the scheme has resulted in 21 states in an all-out revolt against “Dangerous ID” with bills or resolutions already passed against this unconstitutional federal mandate; and
Whereas, U.S. Citizens in such states could be denied access to federal buildings, bank accounts or boarding commercial airplanes; and
Whereas, American citizens should not be required to carry identification papers or have their personal information stored in a database by the federal government; therefore be it
The citizens of Virginia and the coalition of eight separate organizations in Virginia strongly urge freedom-loving Americans to demand that our Commonwealth of Virginia legislators support and sponsor Delegate Bob Marshall and Senator Ken Cuccinelli’s House and Senate bills to stop the implementation of Dangerous ID in Virginia.
We, the undersigned, call on the government of the State of Virginia to refuse compliance with the dangerous, so-called Real ID Act and any other national ID legislation that may or may not arise.
Anchor Baby.
Very, very good. Soon we will be so labored by our labor, of laboring for the fed, we will be skinny, shrunken and depleted of all energy. This is a tactic of the left, pile it on, pile it on, and then pile some more on under the guise that it’s legal to do so. The citizens are laboring under political overload, also re to as, BS! One must understand one thing re the electorate. The only thing they do is vote, and most are voting the way their masters order them to. They really don’t ask, they tell these idiots, and they do it, thinking it is the answer to all problems. One thing liberals are good at; they first create a non-problem, then they want gov’t to be the hero, and solve it.
Bob is his own worst enemy in the House. He leads the House nearly every year in the number of bills introduced, I think he introduced around 75 last year, if each Delegate introduced as many bills as Bob,t he number would be 7500 to be considered in the 30 days before cross over. Howell’s rule was originally 10 bills but the rule was changed in the last few days of the seesion to 15. If you look at the 75 +/- bills Bob introduced, many were nonsense by anyones objective analysis. Bob has no credibility with his own members due to his many irrational moments on the House floor. The Democrats just sit and laugh while Bob’s own party colleagues eviserate him. Bob is one of the smartest members in the House, he is also one of the most eccentric, leading to a nearly total lack of credibility by the other members of the House.