Free Republic

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sculptor Gary Casteel has suggested the Upper Shenandoah Valley as a good location for a national Civil War memorial.Casteel pitched the memorial as a tourism draw as well of a place of reverence during a meeting recently with the Civil War subcommittee of the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, a nonprofit group working to revitalize Harrisonburg's city center."It was sort of a surprise for me and the group," said Eddie Bumbaugh, executive director of the organization.The subcommittee had been focusing on a series of signs providing information on the downtown's Civil War history, he said. Bumbaugh also said Casteel's...

Groups question validity of Va. law Sodomy law ruling sparks Va. debate The Texas court decision that overturned laws banning sodomy in private coincides with indictments in Virginia alleging public sodomy. By MATT CHITTUM THE ROANOKE TIMES When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas anti-sodomy law in June, its ruling came in the middle of a three-month investigation by Harrisonburg police of alleged public sodomy at a city adult bookstore. Laws banning private sodomy are unconstitutional, legal minds quickly agreed, but the government can still prosecute for sodomy in public. So, three weeks after the ruling, Harrisonburg Commonwealth's Attorney...