most of the General Assembly session. And for many

most of the General Assembly session. And for many of them, as well as for many ordinary mortals, a legitimate place behind a steering wheel would remain an elusive eight hours away, in perpetuity.

After an absurd amount of serious debate on the bill, it was mercifully killed on the House floor.

Still alive, however, and now in the Senate is a House passed measure which would raise the legal age for purcashing and drinking beer from 19 to 21.

Now, this is one of those politically safe "kick the kids" iaw-and-order bills which does several things. It is a sure-fire best seller among the older neo-prohibitionist set who profess to blame all of the world’s ills on the young folks and the demon rum.

The measure appeals strongly to religious fundamentalists who make up a formidable part of some legislative constituencies. In many areas it is equally attractive to bootleggers who are ever interesed in limiting availability of legal hooch.

But the legislators can stand tall on the subject. “Protecting our young people” is right up there with motherhood, apple pie and the flag as a marvelously secure hunting ground for votes.

Of course these same young people, as Sen. Thomas Michie of Charlottesville has pointed out, can get married, enter into contracts, own homes, get drafted, hold responsible jobs, vote and otherwise function as adults. For the General Assembly, in its infinite wisdom, to say they can't buy a can of beer is nonsense.

When the bill is taken up in the Senate it should be promptly tossed on the legislative garbage heap where it rightfully belongs.

A third example of a bill which belongs there is one which would deny admission toVtate colleges and universities to young men who refuse to register for the draft. It would also deny them financial aid.

This is another of those red-white-and-blue shoot’em-up-bang pieces of legislation. It is guaranteed to be a big hit with veterans' groups, the DAR and assorted other well-intentioned citizens, many of whom are inclined to put their adrenalin glands ahead of their brains every time somebody waves Old Glory. It is sponsored by Del. Jeff Stafford (R-Pearisburg) who may be eyeing the Republican nomination for Congress from the 9th District this year.

Let it be said at the outset that I yield to no one in my contempt for those who refuse to obey the draft registration law for reasons other than genuine—and demonstrable—religious or moral convictions. The federal statute properly provides for heavy fines or imprisonment for such violators.

But this bill is badly flawed for reasons which are both practical and philosophical.

In the first place, it would put our state colleges and universities in the position of being federal law enforcers, a radical departure from their proper role as educational institutions.

Secondly, as far as the laws of the Commonwealth are concerned, our colleges may now admit murderers, robbers, rapists, muggers, embezzelers, thieves, communists, politicians and journalists. No class, criminal, political, or occupational, is presently excluded. To begin such exclusions with a miniscule bunch of draft non-registrants seems a bit silly when there is no machinery to weed out those who may have records of committing far heavier crimes.

And finally, the measure smacks strongly of being in the nature of a Bill of Attainder, a type of law expressly forbidden by the U.S. Constitutional. A Bill of Attainder imposes a punishment without trial for an alleged offense.

In spite of its questionable constitutionality and other objections, the bill has been passed by the House. If it is not voted down by the Senate, it should be vetoed by the governor.

These, we greatfully note, are not typical of the bills being processed by the 1984 legislature, but they serve to illustrate the point. In their search for the voters’ approval, the lawmakers all too often appeal to their gut reactions instead of their heads in the legislation they introduce and support.

That, to be sure, is hardly a compliment to the good sense of their constituents.

But sadly, much of the time it works.