Goode letter kicks up controversy over religion and immigration

Virgil Goode sparks a nationwide controversy with a letter sent to a hundred of his constituents.

It said in part, “If American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.” The letter went on to say, “I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America.”

His e-mail was in response to Representative-Elect Keith Ellison’s decision to take the oath of office using a Koran instead of the Bible. Ellison, who is from Minnesota was born and raised in America and converted to Islam. Goode’s office received dozens of complaints about Ellison’s decision to use the Koran.

Goode’s letter has some Muslim groups asking for Goode to apologize, but those calls aren’t coming from around here.

In Rocky Mount, Goode’s hometown, there are streets and buildings named for his father, Virgil Goode, Sr. In this part of the Commonwealth, you aren’t likely to hear any criticism of the congressman.

“The people of Franklin County love Virgil,” said Sue Wallis of Boones Mill.

At Hazel’s Beauty Salon, they cut Goode some slack.

“I think Virgil would not do anything that he did not think was right for his people,” said Hazel Jones, the owner of the shop. “I think he’s trying to protect his people.”

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Goode letter kicks up controversy over religion and immigration
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