The bipartisan, bicameral bill from Virginia lawmakers would increase the minimum age for those prohibited from “purchasing or possessing tobacco products, nicotine vapor products, and alternative nicotine products.”
“We are free to declare, and do declare that the rights hereby asserted, are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right,” said Thomas Jefferson regarding any enacted premise that would strip Virginians, and indeed Americans, of their religious liberty.
Democratic leaders backed legislation repealing restrictions on third trimester late term abortions, repealing clinic health and safety standards, and eliminating informed consent requirements, among other provisions. They noted the measures were unlikely to pass in 2019, but vowed to enact them if Democrats take the Virginia House and Senate in November’s elections.
Addressing the committee, Speaker of the House Kirk Cox said the work done by the Select Committee on School Safety was “groundbreaking.”
“Now is the time for our generation to stand up, stand firm, and stand for a Commonwealth that lights the way forward,” said Garrison Coward upon his announcement to campaign for the 68th House District in the 2019 statewide elections.
After generating serious buzz by presenting her bill while packing heat, legislation to allow emergency services personnel in Virginia to carry a concealed weapon made it out of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee Wednesday night.
Cox met with leaders from the American Legion and the Joint Leadership Council of Veteran Services Organizations to listen to concerns and discuss seven priority recommendations from the JLC intended to benefit Virginia’s veterans.
Child predators and human traffickers could soon find themselves facing harsher, mandatory minimum sentences — including the potential for a life sentence — under the terms of legislation filed by Del. Todd Gilbert, a former prosecutor who worked violent crime and major cases for years.
Republicans defeated eleven gun control bills, including high-profile measures backed by Governor Ralph Northam. While no gun control bills advanced to the floor, gun rights advocates warned that many still remained alive in the Senate and the House of Delegates.
“In this time of great division, we have proven that when we work together we can achieve great things,” Republican Carrie Coyner said in announcing her candidacy for the House of Delegates.
