Virginia is only one of three states that completely denies ex-felons the right to vote, but that might change if one NOVA Delegate gets his way.
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Activists stage protest at RVA McDonald’s, demand increase in minimum wage
RICHMOND – In a show of solidarity, fast-food workers along with health-care and child-care providers from the Richmond area protested outside a McDonald’s restaurant this morning demanding a wage inc
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McAuliffe vetoes bill stopping localities from hiking minimum wage
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed Republican legislation preventing local governments from raising the minimum wage, an issue that has been debated across the country.
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McAuliffe Vetoes legislation that would have required parent’s approval for “sexually explicit” literature
A bill that would have forced teachers to get approval from parents before teaching contentious material was vetoed by Gov. McAuliffe this week.
McAuliffe Vetoes Bills Loosening Gun Restrictions
RICHMOND – Two bills that would have expanded gun rights in Virginia were vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe this week.
The measures were attempts to give Virginians more freedom to possess firearms in or around state office buildings. Though the bills made it all the way to the governor’s desk, McAuliffe decided to shoot them down on Thursday.
McAuliffe vetoed:
· House Bill 382, sponsored by Del. Buddy Fowler, R-Hanover. It sought to prohibit most state agencies from preventing their employees from storing guns or ammunition in a locked motor vehicle at their workplace. The bill had passed the House on a 65-34 vote and the Senate by 24-14.
· HB 1096, introduced by Del. Michael Webert, R-Marshall. It aimed to reverse the governor’s Executive Order 50, which disallowed the possession of firearms in Virginia state office buildings. The legislation had passed the House by a vote of 65-33 and the Senate by 21-17.
Webert expressed disappointment in McAuliffe’s decision, chalking it up to the tension that comes from checks and balances.
“As is the course of government, there is always friction between the executive and legislative branches,” Webert said. “I am disappointed in the governor’s veto of HB 1096.”
Webert said McAuliffe’s executive order infringed on the rights of law-abiding citizens and their options to defend themselves.
“Many law-abiding concealed carry permit holders, I am confident, will also share in my disappointment as they cannot defend themselves as they see fit,” Webert said. “As law-abiding citizens, CCP holders are a very law-abiding group, and thus it would only be prudent to work to provide them with the same level of freedom they once enjoyed.”
In his veto message, McAuliffe called the bills “an unnecessary reversal of common-sense efforts to limit workplace violence or accidental injury due to the presence of firearms in state facilities.”
“All Virginians, including state employees, have the right to feel safe and secure going about their daily lives,” McAuliffe said regarding HB 1096. “Regulations have been authorized to promote safety in public buildings, and prevention requires us to address areas of concern before they are realized.”
As for HB 382, the governor said, “I believe there is a need to establish and enforce workplace violence prevention policies that focus on employee safety and an atmosphere of workplace safety. An essential component of workplace violence prevention is the regulation of the possession, brandishing, or use of weapons on-site and during work-related activities.”
Although McAuliffe vetoed the two gun rights measures, the Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers forged a compromise on the issue during this year’s legislative session. Under the agreement, people who are under a permanent protective order because of domestic abuse must relinquish their firearms, and the State Police will provide background checks for private gun sellers at gun shows. In addition, Virginia agreed to continue recognizing concealed weapon permits granted by other states.
So far, McAuliffe has vetoed a total of 14 bills from the legislative session that ended March 11. Among other things, the vetoed bills would have allowed stronger grain alcohol to be sold in Virginia liquor stores; given the General Assembly more control over how the state responds to a federal plan to reduce emissions at coal-fueled power plants; and allowed home-schooled students to participate in sports and other interscholastic activities at their local schools.
The General Assembly will reconvene on April 20 to consider the governor’s amendments and vetoes of legislation. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.
Though it usually lasts a single day, the reconvened session can last up to three days and can be extended by up to an additional week.
ACLU urges governor to veto bill that would require parents approval of books that contain ‘sexually explicit’ material
The only thing keeping teachers from having to approve books like To Kill a Mockingbird with parents is a signature from Gov. McAuliffe.
HB 516, introduced by R. Steven Landes of Verona, requires every educator to send a notice home to parents of students if the material they are teaching involves “sexually explicit” material. Upon receiving this notice, parents then have the option to opt their child out of that particular lesson plan and have their child be taught a text separate from the class.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Va has joined a coalition of eight other organizations urging McAuliffe to veto the legislation. Among the other organizations fighting against Landes’ bill are the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Library Association.
“We believe that such legislation would prejudice educationally valuable content, undermine the quality of public education in Virginia, and contravene important First Amendment principles,” said the letter from eight organizations.
In their own message to the governor the ACLU called HB 516 “an unusual and inappropriate intervention into the routine operations of public schools”.
According to the Washington Post the bill started with a complaint from a woman in Fairfax County who was “horrified” at the content of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved that her son, a senior in high school, was assigner to read.
Written by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, the novel “Beloved” contains detailed counts of violence including gang rape and the murder of an infant.
In 2012 the book was one of the top ten most challenged in schools for the reasons of “Sexual explicitness, religious viewpoint and violence” as reported by the ALA.
James LaRue, Director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, who endorsed the letter to McAuliffe fears that the way HB 516 introduces books to parents can strip a classic of its integrity.
“If the report doesn’t say why it is a good book or why you want to talk about it and just says it’s sexually explicit, some students could really get cheated out of a learning experience,” LaRue said in an interview with RVA Mag.
The bill was passed on the house floor March 3 with a 77 to 21 vote. Gov. McAuliffe has until April 11 to decide to veto the bill or not.