Virginia governor's slew of bills heralds progressive new direction for state

[Judi Lynn]

Ralph Northam signs into law gun control measures and rolls back abortion restrictions – and outlaws gender and sexuality discrimination

Richard Luscombe

@richlusc
Sat 11 Apr 2020 17.59 EDTLast modified on Sat 11 Apr 2020 19.12 EDT

Virginia governor Ralph Northam has signed into law new measures on gun control and abortion rights and outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexuality and gender identity, establishing a progressive new direction for a traditionally conservative state where Democrats won the legislature in November for the first time in almost 25 years.

In a Good Friday signing spree, Northam swept away a requirement for those seeking abortions to wait 24 hours, and tightened firearms restrictions to include background checks and limits on purchases.

“We lose too many Virginians to gun violence, and it is past time we took bold, meaningful action to keep our communities safer,” the governor said in a statement. “These common sense laws will save lives.”

As well as the background checks for all weapons purchasers, and limits to one handgun per month to curtail stockpiling, the new laws impose penalties for those who do not report lost or stolen guns within 24 hours, and allows law enforcement to confiscate firearms from anyone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/11/virginia-governor-ralph-northam-signs-bills

[lagomorph777]

1. THIS is why we have to show up in off-year elections, special elections, primaries...

VOTE every single time. Elections have consequences.

GO Virginia!