Requiring a two-thirds vote in the General Assembly to participate in cap-and-trade and other climate change mitigation initiatives “violates the Virginia Constitution and would significantly undercut efforts,” Governor Northam says.
Did ‘#MeToo’ Forget About Justin Fairfax?
It is quite interesting that while the calls for Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax to resign are continuing, the protests that have blanketed Gov. Ralph Northam’s reputation for racist photos have been absent for Fairfax’s sexual assault and rape allegations.
Gruesome MS-13 Attack In Northern Virginia Could Give Life To Bill Banning Sanctuary Cities
As transnational gangs like MS-13 continue to plague the Northern Virginia area with horrific crimes, it is not legislation like banning sanctuary cities that “have negative impacts on public safety,” which Governor Northam says, but the fact that there are none.
SCOTUS To Consider Virginia’s Redistricting Impasse Monday
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the fate of the Commonwealth’s legislative map, which could again change the potential outcome of the 2019 elections following the unveil of the new map drawn by the court-appointed special master.
Trump Veto’s Congress’ Rebuke Of National Emergency Declaration
Bucking back at the Republican-controlled Senate that voted to reject the national emergency declaration to secure funding to construct hundreds of miles of wall at the southern border, President Donald Trump issued his first-ever veto on Friday. Flanked by Attorney General William Barr and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the commander in chief added that Congress’ rebuke “would put countless Americans in danger.”
The U.S. Senate blocked the president’s emergency declaration in a 59-41 vote on Thursday afternoon, with 12 Republicans joining the minority Democratic bloc.
“The Democrat-sponsored resolution would terminate vital border security operations by revoking the national emergency issued last month,” the president said in his remarks. “It is definitely a national emergency. Rarely have we had such a national emergency.”
Trump said he vetoed the “reckless resolution” because Congress’ action was a “vote to deny the crisis on the southern border” and was a “vote against reality.”
“It’s against reality. It is a tremendous national emergency. It is a tremendous crisis,” the president added.
Although lawmakers, including some Republicans, have criticized President Trump’s use of his national emergency powers to gather nearly $8 billion in funding from pockets of federal money dedicated to other projects, the Department of Justice led by recently-confirmed Attorney General Barr, set forth a robust defense of the president’s authority to do so in a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) earlier this month, CNN reports.
“The President acted well within his discretion in declaring a national emergency concerning the southern border,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd, laying forth a legal basis for the proclamation under the National Emergencies Act and additional statutory authorities.
“The President’s emergency Proclamation reasonably described the current situation as an ongoing ‘border security and humanitarian crisis,'” he added. “The crisis at the border…may qualify as an emergency even though it, too, is not entirely new.”
The resolution will now be sent back to the U.S. House of Representatives, but House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), a staunch Trump ally, has reiterated that Congress’ lower chamber will not muster the two-thirds vote necessary to overturn the president’s veto.
Richmond’s ‘Day Of Mourning’ To Show Solidarity Against Gov. Northam’s ‘Infanticide’ Comments
Over one month removed from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam‘s (D) highly controversial radio show comments regarding “infanticide,” a grassroots organization of pro-lifers is planning to voice their disgust and convene in the state capital of Richmond on April 6th for a “Day of Mourning.” Virginia pastors are also invited to join the event’s speakers to “repent for the church’s 46 years of silence and apathy.”
Governor Northam doubled down on his support for Delegate Kathy Tran’s (D-Fairfax) sweeping late-term abortion bill during the 2019 legislative session, just after a similar situation occurred in New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a bill into law to allow women to seek abortions after a fetus is 24 weeks old if the mother’s life or health is threatened by the pregnancy, also making it legal for women to have an abortion at any time if the fetus is not viable.
Following the development in New York, the spire atop New York City’s Freedom Tower, standing 1,776 feet above the ground, was lit bright pink in solidarity with the activists and lawmakers who helped push the monumental change.
The abortion bill supported by a majority of Virginia Democrats, however, goes even further. Delegate Tran, in her presentation to a House of Delegates subcommittee, was asked:
“Where it’s obvious that a woman is about to give birth, that she has physical signs that she is about to give birth, would that still be a point at which she could request an abortion if she was so certified?…She’s dilating, I’m asking if your bill allows that.”
Tran responded, “My bill would allow that, yes.”
The legislation, also known as the “Repeal Act,” would do away with restrictions on third trimester abortions, allowing abortion doctors to self-certify the necessity of late-term procedures, eliminate informed consent requirements, repeal abortion clinic health and safety standards, permit late-term abortions to be performed in outpatient clinics, remove ultrasound requirements, and eliminate Virginia’s 24-hour waiting period.
Days later, during an address on WTOP’s “Ask The Governor” segment, Northam commented on a situation that the bill would influence.
“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen,” he said. “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
Conservatives across the Commonwealth and the nation at-large quickly condemned Northam’s rhetoric, charging that he “supports infanticide.” The governor’s comments even got a mention during President Donald Trump‘s “State of the Union” address in late January, with the commander in chief charging lawmakers “to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb.”
According to the event’s Facebook page, pro-life advocates will meet at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in downtown at 403 North 3rd Street on Saturday, April 6, between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., where they expect thousands to be in attendance to “stand in solidarity with the unborn and mourn over the sin of abortion.”
“We are calling for a National Day of Mourning and repentance,” the group’s organizer says on the page. “We are in desperate need for God to move upon the hearts of young and old in our nation. If our hearts do not break over the killing of these little image bearers of God in the womb, we are dead inside!”
Organizers are asking attendees to do three things:
- Wear black
- Fast and pray
- Repent for the sin of abortion
Some of the speakers set to appear at the event are: authors and entrepreneurs Jason and David Benham; the “Activist Mommy” Elizabeth Johnston; former statewide Republican candidate and Bishop E. W. Jackson; eight-year-old abortion survivor Blythe Mullen; and Dallas, Texas-based singer, songwriter, and worship leader Anna Byrd.
Three weeks ago, over 4,000 people attended the group’s event in Albany, New York, with 40,000 more watching via livestream.
Virginia Enacts Law Allowing School Nurses To Administer Opioid Overdose Drugs
“More people died of overdose last year than died in the Vietnam War,” Delegate John McGuire said, speaking to the nationwide numbers of opioid-related deaths.
Northam Vetos Bill Expediting Concealed Handgun Permits For Non-Residents
It is unlikely the Republican-controlled General Assembly will gather the two-thirds vote necessary to override Governor Northam’s veto.
Study Shows Over 60 Percent Of Richmond Roads In ‘Poor’ Condition
However bad you thought the roads in Richmond, Virginia, were, you were probably right.
Healthcare Provisions In Trump’s Budget Would Give States Control Over Medicaid
Although the plan is impossible to pass with a Democratic majority in Congress, leaving Virginia in control of Medicaid funding via federal block grants could reignite last year’s expansion battle.