When James Edmunds headed to Richmond to begin his first term in the House of Delegates, he brought along some mementos from his Halifax County farm.
Little did he know he was hauling contraband.
Every time he plows his fields, he turns up antlers that have been shed by white-tailed deer. They're a nuisance, he said: He spends $3,000 to $4,000 a year repairing the damage they cause to his tractor tires.
At least, he figured, a few of the pesky things would make a nice decoration in his eighth-floor office in the General Assembly building.
On the way, antlers in hand, he was accosted by someone on the elevator who said, "Did you know those things are illegal?"
No way, he thought. Couldn't be.
But sure enough, he checked into it and there it was, right there in the Code of Virginia: It's unlawful to possess "any wild bird or wild animal or the carcass or any part thereof, except as specifically permitted by law."
What to do?
Wait, he's a lawmaker now, Edmunds thought.
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