Governor Ralph Northam vetoed bills set to curb the creation of sanctuary cities in Virginia and require correctional facilities officials to notify federal immigration authorities when undocumented immigrants are released from custody.
Del. John McGuire Helps Vietnam Vet Fly American Flag After Years-Long Battle With HOA
A nearly two-decade story over the right to fly an American Flag in a neighborhood in Central Virginia has now come to a happy ending after an area lawmaker teamed up with a veteran Marine homeowner to ensure that the “Stars and Stripes” can hang high over Henrico County.
WRIC reports that in 1999, the Wyndham Homeowner’s Association (HOA) told resident Richard Oulton the 25-foot flagpole on his property that flew an American flag violated the neighborhood’s by-laws. The rules only allowed flags to be flown on a six-foot pole attached to the house.
Oulton, a Marine veteran, flew the flag to honor the “749 Marines that [he] served with” in the 1st Battalion 9th Marines who were killed in action during the Vietnam War. Due to the high casualty rate, the battalion earned the nickname of “The Walking Dead.”
At the time, the HOA was controlled by the developer, but recently, there has been a change of management and is now run by the homeowners themselves.
In the 2000 General Assembly session, then-State Senator Bill Bolling (R-Hanover) sponsored the “Wyndham Flag Bill” to make the developer attempting to ban the American flag as a “visual nuisance” illegal. The bill passed unanimously and was later signed by Governor Jim Gilmore (R).
The statute provided that no HOA can prohibit a homeowner from flying a flag unless they disclose it at the time of sale. However, a judge ruled that the law did not apply to Oulton’s case, ordering him to remove the flagpole and the flag by March 1, 2003.
“I’m standing in my front yard being told my American flag is a visual nuisance and I can’t fly it in support of the troops in Iraq. I think it’s horrible but I have to comply,” he said in 2003 interview.
Nearly two decades later, Oulton received reinforcements in the likes of Delegate John McGuire (R-Goochland), a former Navy SEAL, to help him solve the issue and allow him to honor his fallen brethren by flying the American flag outside his home.
“The one thing that unites us in this country is that American flag,” said Delegate McGuire. “And when I heard about that I was like we got to get that American flag up.”
Since last year, moving through two appeals, the duo has been working with the Wyndham HOA to let Oulton resurrect his flag pole.
Interestingly enough, the Republican lawmaker was able to help secure the deal without having to propose any new laws, statutes, or ordinances.
“They asked us to poll our neighbors and we pulled (sic) all of the neighbors that were adjacent, nine houses and was 100 percent support,” explained Oulton.
“The Wyndham Foundation has always permitted Mr. Oulton to fly the American flag. The only special approval needed was for the size and location of the flagpole in question,” the association’s president said in a statement according to CNN.
“Mr. Oulton made the original request 18 years ago, which was managed by the developer-controlled board. The request was then denied, and no further request was submitted by Mr. Oulton until late Fall 2018. The Wyndham Foundation Homeowner’s Association has since been working diligently with Mr. Oulton to come to a resolution that is in the best interest of the resident and the community. We are happy that we were able to help Mr. Oulton get his flagpole.”
Delegate McGuire said, “When I went to Richard [Oulton] to tell him that he would get his flagpole, he had tears in his eyes.”
Speaking about the flag he will fly, which flew at his bunker in Vietnam, Oulton explained, “It’s one memory I’ve kept. It’s very important to me. It’s kind of a tattered now, but lot of memories.”
The new flagpole has been erected at Oulton’s home in Wyndham and he his planning to raise “Old Glory” for the first time at a ceremony on April 27, where his wife, Ava, says they are trying to limit the event to veterans, but are still expecting hundreds of people to attend.
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.
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.
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.
Virginia Unemployment Rate Holds At 2.8 Percent For Sixth Consecutive Month
The last time Virginia’s unemployment rate was this low was April 2001.
Virginia High School Student Had ‘Trump 2020’ Flag Wrapped Around Neck By School Employee
“The York County School Division is aware of the video being circulated on social media depicting an interaction between a para-educator and a student…administrators are continuing to review this personnel matter,” a statement reads.
State Senator Frank Wagner Announces Retirement After 28 Years In Virginia Legislature
Becoming the third Republican State Senator to retire this year, Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach) has announced that he will not seek reelection in 2019. The Naval Academy graduate has served in the General Assembly’s upper chamber since 2002, being a staunch proponent of improving transportation infrastructure in Hampton Roads, supporting veterans care, and aiding in deregulatory measures to promote business growth.
“It has been one of the highest honors of my life to serve the citizens of the Commonwealth. I want to thank the citizens of Virginia Beach and Norfolk for giving me that privilege of serving them in Virginia legislature,” the 63-year-old said in a statement.
“Virginia is a great state, which is why we choose to live here. I just hope that I have left our state a little better off for me having served. However, the time has come to turn my seat over to the next generation to continue to make Virginia a better place for all of us to live and raise our families,” he added.
Wagner began his 28-year legislative career in the House of Delegates, serving as the 21st House District’s representative from 1992 to 2001. Apart from being a member of the State Senate for the past 17 years, Wagner ran unsuccessfully to become the Republican Party’s nominee for governor in 2017 with a campaign slogan of, “One veteran, one businessman, one Virginian, one choice.”
During the 2019 legislative session in Richmond, Wagner’s legislation regarding coal ash ponds was passed by the General Assembly. S.B. 1355 requires coal ash ponds to be closed by moving coal ash to lined landfills on site or recycled. According to the bill, approximately 27 million tons of coal ash across the Commonwealth will be secured in a safe manner.
S.B. 1746, which was also passed, directs the Department of Education to encourage school boards that have a significant number of enrolled military-connected students to partner with the National Math and Science Initiative to provide such students with the tools and resources necessary to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning, job creation, and career readiness.
Wagner also helped lead the charge to ban people from holding a cell phone while driving a to mitigate distracted driving injuries and fatalities in the Commonwealth, but the bill failed to become law.
Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-James City) said of Wagner’s retirement, “Having worked closely with Frank for many years, he has become a great and close friend.”
“With nearly three decades serving the people of Virginia in the General Assembly, and his earlier service to our nation in the Navy, I know Frank will continue to find ways to contribute to Virginia, America, and, of course, Hampton Roads,” he added in a statement.
Senators Richard “Dick” Black (R-Loudoun) and Bill Carrico (R-Grayson) also announced their plans not to run for reelection this November. Currently, the GOP is holding onto a slim 21-19 majority in the upper chamber, with Democrats already eyeing the 7th State Senate District that encompasses Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk.