grams in the US on which Virginia can base its program.
Increase the Number of In-State Slots at Virginia’s Colleges – Students from Virginia are able to attend
Virginia’s institutions of higher learning for less tuition than students from out of state. As a result, Virginia’s colleges and universities face financial pressures to limit the number of students they accept from in-state. That’s plain wrong. Virginia’s colleges shouldn’t be balancing their budgets by accepting greater numbers of out-of-state students who pay full tuition. The General Assembly should require a larger percentage of incoming freshman at Virginia’s universities be Virginia residents, and make up the difference in revenue either through greater funding or by increasing the tuition for out-of-state students.
And Lastly… Replace Lee-Jackson Day with Virginia Heritage Day - Each year, we celebrate a state holi-
day remembering two great Virginias – Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Instead of focusing on two military leaders of the Confederacy during the Civil War, we should embrace the broader history of the Commonwealth and the contributions of all her soldiers, those who fought for and against the United States. Bearing Drift supports the replacement of Lee-Jackson Day with Virginia Heritage Day in an effort to broaden our remembrance of those who gave so much for our state.
Social Issues Personhood Amendment -- The concept behind per-
sonhood is very simple. Every human being has the basic human right to exist. Should Virginia enact a law codifying personhood, it will mean that the state will recognize every human being as having legal protections from biological beginning until natural death, “subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and decisional interpretations thereof by the United States Supreme Court and specific provisions to the contrary in the statutes and constitution of this state (Virginia).” Bill HR 1 mirrors the “Missouri Preamble” -- a section of the Missouri Constitution that has already survived legal challenge at the Supreme Court (Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989). In essence, this bill will subject Virginia abortion law to the strictures of federal courts. As such, the bill is not a true “personhood” bill as the initiatives that have been put forward in states such as Colorado and Mississippi. Pro-lifers across Virginia eagerly look forward to the discussion as to why every human being does not have the basic human right to exist. Bearing Drift strongly supports the basic human right to exist, and by extension, supports HR 1 in the General Assembly.
Robert E. Lee
Arthur Ashe
Meriwether Lewis
Stonewall Jackson
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February 2012
BearingDrift
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