Online Chat
Colchester Middle School 8th Graders
April 4, 2001

Session Start: Tue Apr 04 14:25:52 2000

[Sen_Leahy] Hi - I just left my meeting with AG Reno.

[Alan] what were you doing with AG Reno

[jojo] what is the best decision you have made for Vermont?

[Sen_Leahy] Good to be with you and one of the issues we discussed was gun control. There are some modest gun control issues in the juvenile justice bill but the Senate leadership will not let it pass.

[Brittany] what do you think about the current gun control laws?

[pete] Do you strongly agree with gay marriage?

[Sen_Leahy] I meet with AG Reno several times a month to go over major criminal cases and the conduct of the Dept of Justice

[Alan] Cool are you talking about smart guns

[Sen_Leahy] Smart guns are not in the proposed law. Anyone owning a gun today - as many Vermonters do - should keep the gun or guns locked up especially if young children are around. That is what I do with my guns.

[pete] Do you strongly agree with gay marriage

[pete] ?

[Sen_Leahy] You have asked about gay marriages. That is an issue before the Vermont legislature and not the Congress. I think the House in Montpelier adopted a reasonable compromise in their effort to comply with the Vermont Supreme Court. As a Vermonter I can accept the law they passed as I know I am under the jurisdiction of our Supreme Court.

[pete] What is your personal opinion

[pete] ?

[jojo] what is the best decision you have made for Vermont?

[Sen_Leahy] When I mention our Supreme Court I mean that we Vermonters look to them for the last word on our Vermont laws and Constitution.

[Sen_Leahy] Pete it is in my answer above.

[Sen_Leahy] I have voted over 10,000 times. In fact only 21 Senators in the history of our country have voted that many times. Many of those votes directly affected Vermont so it is hard to say which of thousands of votes was the best. I like to think that the best decision was the one i made to always put Vermont's interest first because I feel our state so reflects what is best in America

[Brittany] What is your personnal opinion on abortion?

[Alan] What do you have in mind for the future of VT schools?

[pete] What is it like being away from your home state

[pete] ?

[Alan] :-]

[Sen_Leahy] Brittany I wish there would never be another abortion in America but that is a decision that each woman has to make. It has been my experience that simply passing a law against abortion does nothing to stop them.

[Brittany] I agree.

[Sen_Leahy] Alan our schools in Vermont are going to have to do a lot more to prepare our students for a highly complex society especially in high tech.

[Alan] Great but how are you going to do that

[Sen_Leahy] We are going to have to spend more time in school and , personally, I wish our students could learn more history and more math.

[Alan] Thank you!

[Eric] I agree those are two important subjects!

[Sen_Leahy] Pete - I try to get home many times a month and will be there this weekend. My real home is in Vermont and I am usually in Washington only on the days we are in session or i have meetings with other Senators, the President or things like that.

[Alan] Do you think that we sould have more school days

[Alan] ?

[Brittany] What is the President like?

[jojo] what kinds of thing do you do on an average day?

[Brittany] Do you talk with him often?

[Sen_Leahy] Alan I think you are getting the last question - I expect we will see more school days as many other countries now do. Fortunately you are in a school with very good teachers and that helps - and they cna probably spell better than I can type!

[Sen_Leahy] I do see the President often and will later today. He is usually the best briefed person in the room but each of the 5 Presidents I have worked with are different.

[Brittany] What will you discuss at your meeting with him?

[Sen_Leahy] Jojo - Most days start with me getting my first e-mails around 6AM and end with my last briefing material around midnight. Everything is different in the middle but always interesting. One of you should come down and follow me and my staff around some day

[Sen_Leahy] Good to be with you and I will run - today Brittany, I will talk to the President about my efforts to ban landmines.

[Brittany] Thanx for your time!!

[Eric] Thank you for your time

[Mike] Thanks for your time with us

[jojo] thank you for your time

[Alan] thank You for Your time!

[Brittany] Bye Jenn! Bye Matt! Bye Senator Leahy! :)

[pete] Thanks Sen_Leahy

[Alan] @:->

Session Close: Tue Apr 04 14:53:09 2000