Mar 28, 2015 2 min read

West Virginia’s legislature just wrapped up its work for the year – the Mountain State’s legislature is part-time, unlike Pennsylvania’s – and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin had to use his veto pen on some bills that should make West Virginians glad lawmakers don’t come to Charleston more often.

First, Tomblin vetoed a measure that would have had state, county and municipal offices prominently display the “In God We Trust” motto, with private funds being used for the signs. Constitutional questions about church-state separation aside, Tomblin vetoed the bill because it directed West Virginia’s State Building Commission to develop guidelines, even though the commission ceased to exist in 2000.

Oops.

Then, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed West Virginians aged 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon without getting a permit. Tomblin issued his veto after law enforcement groups, including the West Virginia Sheriffs’ Association, argued it would endanger their members, and allow residents to get and carry guns without receiving appropriate training.

He also vetoed a measure that would have authorized businesses to foot the bill for minor road repairs. Tomblin argued, sensibly, that it would have placed an undue burden on the state’s highways commissioner to administer such a program.

But the governor could have also pointed out that road maintenance is a service that benefits the commonweal. And isn’t working for the good of all supposed to be what government is all about?