Special Session

Surprised? House Republicans Refuse To Discuss Gun Safety Measures And Adjourn Until After Election

July 10, 2019 by David Toscano

The much-anticipated Special Session called by Governor Northam to address the challenges of gun violence in the Commonwealth ended abruptly on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, when the House Republicans adjourned until November 18, several weeks after the fall election. Democrats introduced eight common-sense measures designed to address gun safety. These included universal background checks for all gun sales, and a bill to create an Emergency Risk Protective Order (ERPO) designed to remove guns from people who, due to a mental health situation, pose a risk of injury to themselves or others.

I was the designated patron for HB 4009, a bill that would have conformed Virginia’s statute on protective orders to provisions in federal law that prevent individuals subject to such orders from possessing a firearm; we already prohibit people from “owning and transporting” a firearm while subject to a protective order. This bill is similar to one I introduced in 2008, which had the support of a broad cross section of Commonwealth’s Attorneys, sheriffs, and state police. It was defeated in a Republican-led committee when the dominant gun rights group in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, testified against it. Similar bills have been introduced in the decade since, but they all have been defeated.

Yesterday, not a single one of the 63 bills filed for special session got a hearing; Republican leadership in both chambers instructed their committees to table most of the measures — including the eight Democratic bills — and simply adjourn until November 18.

Broad Public Support

Republicans claimed that they needed more time to study these bills. That argument made little sense since most of these bills had been introduced in previous sessions. [Read more…]

Toscano Statement on House and Senate Republicans’ Votes to Adjourn the Special Session

July 9, 2019 by David Toscano

Toscano Statement on House and Senate Republicans’ Votes to Adjourn the Special Session on Gun Violence Prevention until November 18

RICHMOND –Following this afternoon’s surprise party-line votes which adjourned the Virginia General Assembly’s special session until November 18, 2019, Delegate David J. Toscano (D-57th District) released the following statement:

“House and Senate Republicans today showed Virginia that the only vote they are willing to take regarding gun violence protection is a vote to delay, delay, delay. In the face of clear support for action now, captured by multiple polls and embodied by the energetic activists who rallied at the Capitol today, they abdicated their responsibility to serve their constituents and the Commonwealth of Virginia in an appallingly cynical political move to push any votes off until after the November general election.

“I am disappointed but not surprised. Time and time again, whether it is about passing universal background checks for all gun purchases, or enacting measures that would permit a judge, after a hearing, to remove a gun from a person in a mental health crisis to prevent injury to self or others, the Republican leadership continues to stonewall and not even debate, much less pass, reasonable measures designed to reduce gun violence in the Commonwealth.”

Delegate Toscano is available today to the media for further comment.

# # #

Turning Thoughts and Prayers into Actions and Laws?
Gun Safety Special Session, plus Redistricting Update

June 19, 2019 by David Toscano

Governor Ralph Northam has shown leadership by calling the General Assembly into Special Session on July 9 to address gun violence in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting – this one in Virginia Beach, which took thirteen lives. The Governor and those of us who support gun safety measures realize the challenges ahead; Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the House and Senate and chair the committees, have been consistently reluctant to discuss measures supported by many Americans to cut down on gun violence and mass shootings.

Immediately after the Governor issued his call, Republican leaders leapt to brand it as “hasty;” in their view, it is never a good time to act against gun violence. Even as the statewide Special Committee on School Safety spent months last year working on many different aspects of safety for our children, the Speaker prohibited us from including gun safety measures in our discussions. In the last General Assembly session, nearly 35 measures were proposed to help combat gun violence and increase gun safety (two by me). The House bills, and the only one that made it through the Senate, were referred to a small House subcommittee controlled by rural conservative Republicans, where they all died. For years, gun safety bills have not been allowed to come to the House floor for a vote. After the Virginia Beach tragedy, many of us hoped that minds will change and that some of these measures can pass. [Read more…]

Kavanaugh, Due Process, And Legislative Impasse In Richmond

October 1, 2018 by David Toscano

Few Washington events have rivaled the spectacle and drama of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. Once thought a shoe-in for the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative judge is now embroiled in a maelstrom of accusations that include attempted sexual assault, prolific drinking, possible lying to Congress, and an insufficiently judicial temperament, all of which may eventually sink his nomination and may even threaten his standing as a sitting judge on the D.C. federal appeals court. [Read more…]

Medicaid Expansion: A Really Big Deal

June 7, 2018 by David Toscano

It’s Been A Long Time Comin’

Today was the final step in perhaps the most significant success in my thirteen years in the General Assembly. After five years of advocating, strategizing, cajoling, pleading, and fighting, last week we passed a budget that includes Medicaid expansion to about 400,000 Virginians; today, Gov. Northam signed it into law. It is an amazing feeling to cast a vote that will help so many. There are about 3,400 people in the 57th District who would be eligible for the expanded Medicaid program now, and as many as 10,000 additional people in the local region who would benefit. [Read more…]