Tag: Kessler
WV Senate President Kessler Tells Gov. Tomblin to Call Special Session to Address 20 Week Abortion Ban
Posted on June 3, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
According to Alliance Alert: West Virginia Senate President Jeff Kessler (D) today added more pressure to the call for a special session to address the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the bill that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) vetoed at the end of the regular session in March.
Appearing today on MetroNews “Talkline,” Kessler said, “We have a pro-life majority in leadership and I think we can get this issue addressed and put it behind us and move on to other topics that also need to be addressed.”
Gov. Tomblin has said he would again veto the bill, arguing it is unconstitutional. House Speaker Tim Miley again brought up cost. “I don’t believe West Virginia taxpayers will understand why lawmakers would be so eager to quickly return to Charleston at great expense to attempt to pass legislation destined for a long legal battle and a very uncertain future,” he said.
Kessler rebutted both contentions in his appearance on Talkline. Had he thought the law was unconstitutional, Kessler said he wouldn’t have voted for it in the first place.
“Kessler argued the bill already has overwhelming support among legislators and just needs another chance to pass,” according to reporter Shauna Johnson of West Virginia Metro News. Kessler said, “We are going to have a pain capable bill. That’s a given.”
BREAKING: W.Va. Senate President Kessler Introduces Dangerous ENDA Bill
Posted on February 4, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
AP: “A bill introduced in the West Virginia Senate would make it unlawful for employers and landlords to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation. Senate President Jeff Kessler, the sponsor, introduced similar bills in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The bills passed the Senate each year but stalled in the House of Delegates. The West Virginia Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment and housing based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness or disability.”
Even though the water crisis has dominated the legislature up to this point, anyone with an ounce of insight into West Virginia politics knew that it was a matter of time before a bill like this hit the floor. The tide is changing in West Virginia and true conservatives that do more than talk are gaining seats in the state house. Knowing this, liberals seeking to veer away from the values that has made our state great are desperate. This bill from Kessler is just another example of that desperation.