WV Farm Bureau Magazine January 2012 | Page 29

would impose the death penalty for peacetime espionage acts involving the passing of information that would constitute a serious threat to national security. Drugs We support the right of employers and government to test for illegal drug use. We request that schools teach the dangerous effects of drugs and alcohol. We further support prosecuting attorneys and law enforcement officers’ efforts to control the sale of drugs and alcohol. We oppose plea bargaining or other arrangements that allow reduced sentences in drug and alcohol-related cases. In order to be more effective at apprehending drug and alcohol abusers, times and locations of sobriety checkpoints should not be publicized. We oppose the legalization of marijuana and support mandatory sentences for possession and/or sale. We recommend that drug dealers who are indicted and found guilty be severely punished. We also recommend that the Federal Drug Task Force make unannounced drug investigations without the knowledge of state or elected officials. 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. 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 minimum-security 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. 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. 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. 119. 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 West Virginia Farm Bureau News 29