Early indicators suggest Virginians responded to a slate of proposed gun control legislation with a noticeable increase in firearm background checks. The bills mark one the most significant shifts in the state’s firearm laws in recent years, and build on previously...
In 2020, the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified by Virginia, making it the 38th and final state needed to add gender equality to the U.S. Constitution. However, as the Amendment has yet to be published and with the current Republican attorney general of Virginia in opposition of certification, a group of talented artists from across the country,...
RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia lawmakers and advocates are fighting to enshrine women's reproductive rights in the state constitution amid a slew of anti-abortion bills, some which passed the House ahead of the session midpoint. Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance, VREA, celebrated “Repro Advocacy Day” last month by lobbying state legislators. VREA...
RICHMOND, Va. -- Anti-transgender legislation is on the rise nationwide and in Virginia. Even if proposed legislation fails, the vitriol that makes headlines impacts LGBTQ communities, advocates say. Legislation considered anti trans usually falls under efforts that introduce discrimination or fail to create inclusive and affirming protections...
Gun rights advocates fear a new merchant code for firearm purchases is an unnecessary attack on their civil liberties, while gun safety advocates say the code just levels the playing field. The International Standards Organization approved last month a petition from New York-based Amalgamated Bank for a new merchant code. The ISO is Geneva-based...
Klay Porter, 32, recalls overdosing alone at his aunt's house five years ago from heroin laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. He remembers slipping away and thinking “this is it.” Porter isn’t alone. Opioid overdoses led to more than 9,900 emergency room visits in Virginia in 2020, a roughly 30% increase from 2019, according to the Virginia...
Many small cannabis entrepreneurs say large companies are jockeying to lock them out of the industry and have funding that gives them more access to lawmakers. “Small businesses are the backbone of the country,” said Sarah Grant, general manager of The Dispensary in Richmond. The shop opened last year and sells Delta-8-THC flower and vape...
Virginia schools still rely heavily on law enforcement to discipline students and years of efforts to lessen the practice could be halted with recent legislation, according to juvenile justice advocates and some state lawmakers. “Sometimes the heavy hand of the law is not what’s needed,” said James Fedderman, president of the Virginia...
Krysti Albus taught multiple subjects for 20 years and now teaches early childhood special education. She saw many colleagues leave the classroom in the middle of the year for better-paying corporate jobs. “What we have had to go through to have a net income of 30-some thousand dollars a year, but to also have the increased expectations...
Yvonne Rife was in the attic holding her dog Lucy as her Buchanan County home was swept off its foundation and carried a quarter of a mile by the water. A large oak tree lodged in a trestle bridge eventually halted the home, she said. She lost everything, Rife said, including two cats, the house she lived in for over 40 years and the...
