...Advertisement...

...Advertisement...

Discuss Friday's editorials

Update Roanoke athletes to 2.0 version

City schools shouldn't hesitate to raise academic requirements for student athletes. Dumbed-down standards aren't doing them any favors.

Last fall, just before the Patrick Henry High School football team played its first home game ever in its own stadium on its own campus, members of the 1973 state championship team gathered in the new auditorium to pay tribute to their coach, the late Merrill Gainer.

Read more.

 

Guns 'n parks? Make any rule easy to obey

Gun-rights advocates are pushing to allow concealed firearms in national parks.

The Interior Department in Washington is considering changing a rule that forbids people to carry concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposes to let visitors carry them if they're allowed on similar state lands.

National parks frequently cross state borders, though. So where there is clarity, the change would sow confusion. That's not a good idea.

Read more.

Comments

# 1

[May 30, 2008 8:56 AM]

Henry

"City schools shouldn't hesitate to raise academic requirements for student athletes"

Shouldn't this be true for ALL extra curricular activities?

# 2

[May 30, 2008 9:06 AM]

c. trejbal

Yes, it should.

# 3

[June 1, 2008 5:12 PM]

Ed S.

I find it difficult to believe that adapting national park rules to be in-line with state rules would be more confusing to residents. More difficult to believe is that the editorial board would say this, when they have supported confusing, patchwork laws previously. Just a couple of examples:

1. Option for city councils to ban guns in meetings ("Guns and council meetings don't mix" May 18, 2008)

2. Arbitrary local bans at festivals (or any "public safety" reason, whatever that means) ("Gun shy in Norfolk" July 26, 2007)

This, especially the ambiguous language used in the second editorial, is why I believe members of the editorial board are more against carry in certain (sometimes all) places.

Consistency sometimes makes things easier, but consistency of a bad law is not always a good thing. Would the editorial board agree to consistency in abortion bans and gay marriage bans?

Post a comment





Search


Quick Thought

  • We're tweeting -

    The RT is now on twitter.com. To get updates and alerts about what's happening on The Roanoke Times editorial blog, click here, then click "follow." We'll send out updates when we put up the day's editorial and commentary for discussion.

  • Valid e-mail now required -

    From now on, in order to comment to The RT, we will require a valid e-mail address.

    We will conduct random checks to ensure that addresses are valid. The address you submit is not public, and not accessible to spam bots. It will not be used for any other purpose than verification.

    In addition, please remember that this is intended to be a forum for polite and respectful debate. Personal attacks against fellow commenters or the editorial page staff of The Roanoke Times will not be allowed. Address the argument, not the person.

    We will continue to delete any libelous comments.

    Thank you

  • Welcome to The RT -

    Welcome to The RT. That’s The Roanoke Times RoundTable, our new editorial page blog.

    What The RT becomes will be largely up to readers. But we envision a place for a healthy and civil dialogue among The Roanoke Times editorial page staff and the community.

    Read more.

Recent comments

  • I find it difficult to believe that adapting national park rules to be in-line with ...more - Ed S.
  • Yes, it should.more - c. trejbal
  • "City schools shouldn't hesitate to raise academic requirements for student athletes" Shouldn't this be true ...more - Henry

About this blog

The Roanoke Times editorial staff engages readers in a respectful dialogue and exchange of opinion, including our virtual editorial board where you can discuss tomorrow's editorials today. Read more about the editorial staff

E-mail address for roanoke.com

RSS feed

.....Advertisement.....