the knowledge of state or elected officials.
D. Pornographic Media
We support legislation to prohibit the mail
distribution of pornographic materials and the
advertising of such materials. We favor the efforts of
the Federal Communications Commission to establish
guidelines designed to prevent salacious television
programs and pornographic material on the internet.
We urge Farm Bureau members to oppose the
use of objectionable material through letters to, and
personal contacts with, television stations, program
sponsors, theater owners, motion picture production
companies, publishers, and newsstand operators.
E. Criminal Justice and Community Service
We oppose leniency in granting probation and
suspended sentences. We support closer monitoring
of persons given parole or placed on a work release
program. We support and encourage cost-effective
public works programs, such as CCC, for minimumsecurity prisoners, unemployed or delinquent youth.
Old cemeteries are part of our heritage, and
are gradually deteriorating and disappearing. Farm
Bureau suggests that the state use offenders who have
been sentenced to community service to clean up
old cemeteries. Cleaning up road banks and public
stream banks adds beauty to the community and gives
individuals work experience and self-respect.
Farm Bureau favors the passage of “Jessica’s
Law,” which calls for a mandatory sentence of life
imprisonment for the molestation of a child.
F. Criminal Disclosure and Public Office
State criminal laws should be changed to allow
public access to adult and juvenile criminal histories,
including prison disciplinary records and transfers.
Victims, family members and police must be
notified of escapes, impending paroles, furloughs, or
other releases.
Sex-crime victims should be able to require that
their assailants undergo blood tests to reveal any
transmissible disease, and the victim should then be
informed of the results.
WVFB supports legislation to require all sexual
offenders to wear an electronic tracking device.
Legislation should be enacted that prohibits the
appointment of a person convicted of a felony to any
position of authority in state government. Legislation
should also be enacted requiring the forfeiture of
wages, salary, retirement pay and benefits of any
elected or appointed public official who is convicted
of a felony committed while serving in office.
G. Juvenile Justice
We recommend that the juvenile justice code
be expanded to hold parents accountable for the
damages committed by their children.
Because of the seriousness of juvenile crime, we
recommend that a juvenile who commits a crime be
held accountable for that crime. Juveniles who are
thirteen years of age or older, who commit felonies,
should be prosecuted as an adult.
We also recommend that the names of juveniles and
the crimes committed not be withheld from the media.
H. Photography of a Corpse
WVFB supports any legislation that prohibits
photography of a dead body as in reference to
proposed bill HB 2734.
UNINSURED DRIVERS
To help alleviate the problem of uninsured drivers,
a driver who wishes to cancel his insurance must
first surrender his or her vehicle license tag and
registration card to the state police. The state police
will then issue a certificate of surrendered registration
that the driver will be required to present to the
insurance carrier before the insurance is cancelled.
Farm Bureau recommends that the minimum
amount of liability insurance required be increased
from 20/40/10 to 50/100/50.
Certificates of insurance should only be issued for
the period of time paid for.
IMMIGRATION
We request that the WV Legislature adopt a
resolution demanding that the Congress and the
President honor their Constitutional duty to protect
the border of the United States from the flood of
illegal immigration, and we also support any other
state in their efforts to enforce existing immigration
law.
With the increasing burden on taxpaying American
citizens for social services, law enforcement and
especially the likelihood of highly contagious and
potentially pandemic diseases entering the country
via the influx of illegal immigrants, this issue must be
addressed.
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 33