While I appreciate Rep. O'Flaherty's concerns that we need more deliberative, unemotional consideration of legislation, there are three problems with his positions. First, emotion-charged, high profile incidents (the murder of a policeman by a paroled career criminal; the killing of a young man by an illegal alien) often point to underlying SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS which need to be rationally addressed (habitual offender legislation and immigration enforcement). Second, there's something wrong when one man can bottle up legislation for many years despite overwhelming legislative and public support. Three, as a defense attorney, Rep. O'Flaherty tends to favor defense interests over public safety. This is not to impugn his motives… just to say that his views on criminal matters are skewed. Hopefully his successor as chairman will be someone with prosecutorial experience, to better level the field.

This would be a great gift for starving lawyers now that asbestos victims are running out. No doubt they will be handing out their business cards outside senior centers looking for potential victims of child abuse because of higher age limit. Give us tort reform !

The "attack tactics" O'Flaherty referred to must have included the "invasion" of the State House by 100 or so average Joes and Janes seeking the redress of grievances guaranteed to us by the Constitution. Many of us knew we needed to do this because Canon Law cares less for children than it does process (read protection ) for the perps. Of course none of us were wearing purple or cardinal red.