Weekly Column: Assault Weapons Ban – Getting It Right

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of February 23, 2020.

Assault Weapons Ban – Getting It Right

Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee considered a House of Delegates’ bill to regulate assault rifles and other firearm attachments.  I have always supported stronger regulation of assault rifles. 

I lived through the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks while crouching in my car getting gas to avoid being shot.  In 2016, three police officers including one of my constituents were shot with an AR-15.  Officer Ashley Guindon was killed on her first day on the job.  I do not support civilian ownership of weapons of war that are unnecessary for hunting or self-protection.

Experts estimate that there are five to ten million assault weapons in the U.S., including at least 100,000 in Virginia.  The proposed House bill felonized the sale or transfer of assault weapons, certain magazines and silencers, and had no buyback program for assault rifles.  It felonized the possession of certain magazines and silencers after two years.  We repeatedly advised the House that the votes did not exist in the Senate, but the House chose to send the bill over by a one vote margin with three House Democrats voting “no” and one not voting.  

Weekly Column: Big Changes Coming in Energy, Civil Justice, and Labor Laws

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of February 10, 2020.

The Sixth week of the General Assembly brought us to “Crossover” – the day each chamber is required to cease work on their own bills and work on bills from the other Chamber.

The last two days brought furious action on many major bills.  Forty-three of my own bills crossed over to the House of Delegates.  Last week, the Senate passed my legislation creating driver privilege cards for undocumented immigrants for the first time and on a bipartisan basis.  We still have work to do in order to reconcile the House and Senate bills, but it will change the lives of over 100,000 Virginia residents.

We also passed my legislation authorizing state-level class action lawsuits.  Forty-eight other states and the District of Columbia already allow similar lawsuits.  The lack of such remedies in Virginia mean that corporations can steal money from Virginians in smaller amounts and never face justice. 

Weekly Column: The Virginia Legislature Is Addressing Many Concerns

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of February 10, 2020.

The Virginia Legislature Is Addressing Many Concerns 

In the fifth week of the Virginia General Assembly session, the Senate passed my legislation increasing the requirement for auto insurance minimum liability from $25,000 to $35,000 and minimum property damage covered from $20,000 to $40,000.  These minimums have not been adjusted since 1975 when cars cost $4,400 on average and medical bills were much lower.  The failure to raise these means that many injured people are not receiving fair compensation for their injuries or property damage.   

The Senate passed a bill to repeal Virginia’s requirement that people produce a photo identification to vote.  This was Virginia law prior to 2012.  Upon enactment, after July 1, 2020, voters will need to show specified identification at the poll check-in, but if they do not have any of the proper forms of identification, they will still be allowed to vote after signing an affirmation of their identity, subject to violation of a felony for lying.  This system worked fine for decades without any incidents of voter fraud.  We should not assume that every person, like some of our seniors or the permanently disabled, has a government-issued, photo identification.

Weekly Column: Week #4 - Important Bills Are Moving

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of January 17, 2020.

Important Bills Are Moving

In the fourth week of our historic General Assembly session, both the Senate and the House of Delegates voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment after a 50 year battle.  Our Clerks transmitted the ratifications to the Archivist of the United States of America and now the battle moves to Congress and the courts.  

We had a lengthy debate in the Senate on repealing unnecessary restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health, including requiring an intrusive, medically-unnecessary ultrasound before seeking an abortion and rules designed to make abortion clinics extremely expensive to construct.  The Senate voted 20-20 and the Lieutenant Governor broke the tie to approve the measure.  

On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed my legislation to eviscerate predatory lending in Virginia.  The bill provides a 36% interest rate cap with monthly fees that result in annual percentage Interest rates (APR’s) of 50-110%, depending on the length of the loan.  The longer the loan, the smaller the rate.  The bill would prohibit the 267% loans currently allowed at title lenders, businesses that have exploded along U.S. 1 and online loans currently made at rates exceeding 400%.  I expect a tough Senate floor fight. The House has already passed similar legislation.