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Wanna see something crazy? Look no further than Virginia...

Bob Marshall, a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates introduced a crazy bit of legislation today. I'm not exaggerating one iota when I label the legislation as "crazy." Here, have a look for yourself:

"HB2340: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Prevent any agency, political subdivision, or employee of Virginia from assisting the Federal government of the United States in any investigation, prosecution, detention, arrest, search, or seizure, under the authority of any federal statute enacted, or Executive Order or regulation issued, after December 31, 2012, infringing the individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms by imposing new restrictions on private ownership or private transfer of firearms, firearm magazines, ammunition, or components thereof."

That's right - the far-right gun nuts (I now believe this is the proper term as well) have reached the point in their the-federal-government-is-coming-after-my-guns paranoia, that in the state of Virginia, they're attempting to restrict gun-crime information sharing with the big, bad federal government.

The really crazy part is the fact this "piece" (ambiguously used) of legislation passed along party lines by a 15-7 vote today and will head to the House of Delegates for a vote next week.

In response to the legislation, Democratic Delegate Alfonso Lopez, who voted against the bill, said: "Say the federal government was investigating a gun-runner in Virginia, local police would not be allowed to assist the FBI or the ATF with providing addresses, contact information, or phone numbers. It has unintended consequences, is overly broad, and is the wrong direction for Virginia to be going."

Patrick Hope, another Democratic Delegate, had this to say, "This bill will turn Virginia into a haven for fugitives of the federal government. If you're a criminal, you should come to Virginia, because under this law we would ignore any commonsense legislation that comes out of Washington. It will be a danger to public safety. This is not a joke - but it's something you'd think you'd see in The Onion."

If this legislation ultimately passes, there may be some changes on the way in the commonwealth state, such as the following:

New state song: Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal"

State bird: The dodo bird

State movie: Idiocracy

State nickname: The Felon State

State motto: "Mostly crime, most of the time"

Yeah, just imagine if bin Laden were still alive. If this law passed, he'd probably leave the Middle East and head to the state of Virginia, where he'd be better protected from the United States federal government. Virginia may call itself the commonwealth state, but if this law passes, it will be the antithesis of the commonsense state.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/01/25/1497681/virginia-advances-gangbanger-bill-of-rights-to-withhold-gun-crime-evidence-from-federal-government/

http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2013/01/gangbanger-bill-of-rights-passes-house-committee.html

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