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Video: Reproductive Health Leaders Hold Governor Youngkin and Republicans Accountable for Veto of the Right to Contraception Act 

By
Blue Virginia
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1

From DPVA:

Reproductive Health Leaders Hold Governor Youngkin and Republicans Accountable for Veto of the Right to Contraception Act 

This morning, DPVA hosted a press call with elected officials and reproductive health leaders U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan of Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield), Delegate Cia Price (D-Newport News), Penny Blue of Franklin County, and Lara Bury of Springfield to respond to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto of the Right to Contraception Act (HB609 and SB237). Governor Youngkin and MAGA Republicans continue to push for dangerous and extreme measures that could leave Virginians at risk of losing access to a wide range of contraceptive methods. On the call, the lawmakers and leaders had a simple message: This veto highlights the importance of electing President Biden and Vice President Harris this November so Donald Trump and Republicans cannot enact a national abortion ban and other restrictions to reproductive freedom.

Find Highlights Below

U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan: “By laying the groundwork for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Trump has emboldened his MAGA allies across the country, and in the last two years, we continue to hear MAGA politicians say quite explicitly that contraception should be next. In Congress, I am a proud cosponsor of the Right to Contraception Act, but we have to flip the House, keep the Senate, and re-elect President Biden and Vice President Harris to make it a reality.” [WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE]

Senator Ghazala Hashmi: “Nowhere is the threat to contraception more clear than in the votes and in the veto that just occurred. Every Republican in the state Senate voted against this bill and our governor vetoed it. He can give any excuse he wants to, but his veto pen speaks louder than words. He simply will not protect the right to contraception and that has been made clear.” [WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE]

Delegate Cia Price: “The governor knows this bill is supported by 8 in 10 people, which is why he tries to talk from both sides of his mouth. But instead of listening to the 8 in 10, he chose to appease the ultra-right wing of his party and he bent to extremist ideologies at the expense of our freedom to decide if and when to start a family. I want to know if he agrees with them and their backward thinking.” [WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE]

Penny Blue: “I ask women and all across Virginia to put aside politics and party and vote our own interests, and not allow anyone to take us back 100 years, but to support leaders up and down the ballot that support women’s reproductive freedom.” [WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE]

Lara Bury: “[Governor Youngkin’s] decision showed us once again, we are right to be fearful of how far this will go. What is staring us in the face is that extremists want to and are making it possible to eliminate our reproductive choices. I lived my entire life without needing to think about access to birth control, as it should be. It should be guaranteed that we have the choices in our reproductive health.” [WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE]

Video: Dan Helmer Launches First Broadcast Television Ad in VA-10; Stresses That Our Democracy Is Fragile, That We Can’t Take It For Granted

By
Blue Virginia
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4

From the Dan Helmer for VA10 campaign:

Dan Helmer Launches First Broadcast Television Ad in VA-10

The ad will run on major networks across the district and highlights Helmer’s unique ability to protect our democracy along with his endorsement by the Washington Post Editorial Board

Fairfax, VA — Today, Dan Helmer’s campaign placed the first broadcast television advertisement in the race for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. The ad, which will run on major networks across the district beginning tomorrow and run through Election Day on June 18th, highlights the stakes for our democracy as well as Helmer’s recent endorsement by the Washington Post Editorial Board.

“I served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen what happens when extremists trample people’s rights,” said Helmer in the ad. “It’s why I wrote the bill to ban January 6th insurrectionists from holding office and led the fight to protect abortion rights in Virginia.”

The full ad can be viewed by clicking on the image below:

 

With scenes of the attack on our Capitol on January 6th in the background, Helmer describes the stakes in the election: “We can’t take our democracy for granted.”

Monday News: “Butcher of Tehran” Dead; President Biden Condemns “poison of white supremacy,” Declares “Democracy is still the way,” Asks What Trump Would Have Done “if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol?”; Under Youngkin, “Parole in Virginia Has Nearly Vanished”

By
lowkell
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9

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, May 20.

Sunday News: “Frustration with Netanyahu boils over on plans for Gaza after Hamas”; Blood-On-Its-Hands NRA Endorses Trump, Who Ends “Bizarre, Slur-Filled” (and Falsehood-Filled) Speech with “Dramatic QAnon Music”; Biden to Speak at Morehouse Commencement

By
lowkell
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11

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, May 19.

Republican Calls for Mob Violence Grow Ever More Flagrant

By
kindler
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2
  1. By Kindler

Experts on the breakdown of democracy warn us to be ready for when the bright red warning lights start flashing.  And no sign is more ominous than when you have political leaders explicitly promoting violence against whole segments of the population.

That was precisely the message sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott when he pardoned the convicted murderer of a Black Lives Matter protestor.  I looked a bit more deeply into this case in the hope, frankly, of finding some mitigating factor, some reasonable doubt – some excuse for this pardon other than to proclaim: “it’s open season on progressives, boys.”  But there was none.  This was a pretty open-and-shut, fairly adjudicated case of a politically motivated murder – which Abbott decided to overturn after being goaded to do so by the likes of Tucker Carlson.

Unlike Kyle Rittenhouse, the then-teenager who shot three men – two of them fatally – at a racial justice rally in Wisconsin in 2020, the defendant in the Texas case, Daniel Perry, was found guilty by a jury of his peers.  And no, we’re not talking about those liberal-by-definition New York City jurors that Trump and his cronies love to complain about – this was a jury of red-blooded Texans.

The facts of the case were depressingly clear.  Perry, an Uber driver, in July 2020 followed the increasingly common – and Republican-encouraged – practice of driving into groups of protestors. At that point, he came upon marcher Garrett Foster, whom he shot to death.

Now, the only thin reed upon which right wingers have to hang their defense is the fact that the victim, Foster, was open-carrying an AK-47 at the time of the incident.  The hypocrisy of a party that has spent decades touting unfettered gun rights – to the point of Republican U.S. Representatives wearing assault weapon lapel pins on the floor of Congress – saying that progressives deserve to be shot if they have a weapon in their hands is, well, just breathtaking.

Careful accounts of the trial have noted that multiple eyewitnesses stated that Foster did not raise or point his rifle at Perry while only Perry and his defense attorneys claim otherwise.  Eyewitnesses versus a defendant trying to keep his butt out of jail – hmm, tough call there!

The most damning part was actually excluded from trial but released later – a full 82 pages of Perry’s social media messages in which he made or promoted endless racist slurs and made statements like “I might go to Dallas to shoot looters.”

See what I mean by open-and-shut case?  The justice system worked and that should have been the end of it.

But that’s the point at which Tucker Carlson, then still at Fox, attacked Abbott for allowing the cold-blooded murderer of a progressive protestor to be convicted without a fight.  And like a well-trained dog, Abbott responded with a tweet stating “Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney…I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk.”

Take just a moment to gawk at the sheer, incoherent nonsense and dishonesty of this statement. “Jury nullification” is the practice of jury members declaring a defendant innocent even when they know he is guilty, as a way of protesting against the criminal justice system. What the hell does that have to do with a case in which a jury found the defendant guilty?  Abbott, by the way, is a former state Supreme Court justice and attorney general who surely knows better.

Furthermore, “Stand Your Ground” cannot be a defense when there is nothing to stand your ground against – you can’t just shoot and kill a victim who does not threaten you.  The clear and disturbing message here is that the sheer existence of members of the political left peacefully protesting is itself a threat justifying right wingers in actually shooting such progressives to death.

The pretense for this pardon could not be thinner. Abbott acted after his self-appointed parole board recommended it – but that board, in an empty three-paragraph statement, did not give a single reason for its recommendation.

So, ultimately, there was no remotely reasonable justification for this pardon.  That leaves only one explanation – it was a political act. And I do not see any way to read this political statement other than to reward the murderer for what he did and to encourage more MAGA types to take up arms and use the threat or reality of violence to stop members of the left from peacefully expressing ourselves.

You’ll know that fascism has arrived at our shores when you have a major political party deciding to throw aside the legal and moral norms and constraints of democracy in favor of outright mob violence as their favored form of political expression.

So you tell me: are we there yet?

(Thanks for reading — please check out my Substack)

DNC War Room: “MAGA Extremist” Glenn Youngkin Continues to Undermine Women’s Freedoms, Doubling Down on a Losing Strategy

By
Blue Virginia
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8

From the “DNC War Room”:

Glenn Youngkin Continues to Undermine Women’s Freedoms, Doubling Down on a Losing Strategy
In response to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoing legislation to protect access to contraception, DNC spokesperson Jackie Bush released the following statement: 

“Last fall, MAGA extremist Glenn Youngkin witnessed Virginia voters reject his attempts to attack women’s reproductive rights at the ballot box. Clearly, Governor Youngkin didn’t learn his lesson. Today’s veto of legislation to protect Virginians’ right to contraception offers further evidence that Youngkin is still operating from Donald Trump’s losing playbook as he doubles down on Trump’s deeply unpopular, anti-freedom agenda. Trump, Glenn Youngkin, and MAGA extremists across the country seem as hellbent on ripping away women’s reproductive rights as they are on losing elections.”

Virginia voters made it clear last fall that Glenn Youngkin and MAGA Republicans’ anti-freedom agenda is deeply unpopular. 

Associated Press: “Virginia Democrats sweep legislative elections after campaigning on abortion rights”

“Virginia Democrats who campaigned on protecting abortion rights swept Tuesday’s legislative elections, retaking full control of the General Assembly after two years of divided power.

“The outcome is a sharp loss for Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his fellow Republicans, who exerted a great deal of energy, money and political capital on their effort to secure a GOP trifecta.”

19th News: “Virginia Republicans embraced a 15-week abortion ban — and then lost”

“Tuesday’s election results in Virginia are a rebuke to what anti-abortion advocates and Republican politicians hoped was a limit that a broad swath of voters could get behind.”

Since Donald Trump overturned Roe and unleashed anti-reproductive rights legislation in state after state, contraception is now on the MAGA chopping block. 

Stateline: “Some States Already Are Targeting Birth Control”

“[Missouri Republicans] were going after specific forms of birth control as well, notably, emergency contraceptives, often sold under the brand name Plan B, and intrauterine devices, known as IUDs. GOP lawmakers tried to stop Missouri’s Medicaid agency from paying for those forms of contraception.

“Missouri state Sen. Paul Wieland, one of the Republicans who led that effort, explained his position this way: ‘The bottom line is there is only one time something definitively happens and that’s the moment of conception. Once that happens, anything that happens should not be state funded.’”

Daily Beast: “Wake Up! Republicans Really Are Trying to Ban Contraception”

“House Bill 3216, or the ‘Oklahoma Right To Human Life Act,’ seeks to create a database to track women who have abortions, limit the use of emergency contraception–like the Plan B pill–and also restrict the use of intrauterine devices, which prevent the implantation of a fertilized human embryo.”

New York Times: “Republican Opposition to Birth Control Bill Could Alienate Voters, Poll Finds”

“A new national poll conducted by Americans for Contraception and obtained by The New York Times found that most voters across the political spectrum believe their access to birth control is actively at risk, and that 80 percent of voters said that protecting access to contraception was ‘deeply important’ to them. Even among Republican voters, 72 percent said they had a favorable view of birth control.

“When voters were told that 195 House Republicans had voted against the Right to Contraception Act, 64 percent of them said they would be less likely to support Republican candidates for Congress, according to the poll. And overall, the issue of protecting access to contraception bolstered voters’ preference for Democrats by nine points, giving them a 12-point edge over Republicans, up from three.”

Even after voters in Virginia and across the country expressed outrage at MAGA Republicans’ attacks on reproductive freedom, extremist Glenn Youngkin continues to attack reproductive health care.

News Leader: “In a late-evening action, Youngkin vetoes abortion-related and family medical leave bills”

“Bills HB519 and SB716, if signed would have prohibited the Virginia Board of Medicine from taking disciplinary action against a doctor who provides abortion care; bills HB1539 and SB15, if signed, would have prohibited extradition from the commonwealth for health professionals who provide abortion care deemed illegal in another state.”

VPM: “Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed four bills Friday night that would have created shield laws for reproductive-health providers.”

WVTF: “Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin now has the record for the most number of vetoes of any governor in recent memory, and he rolled out new abortion vetoes over the weekend. Here’s Senator Barbara Favola, a Democrat from Arlington who introduced one of the vetoed bills that would’ve protected women and providers from being extradited to Tennessee or Texas, where abortion is much more restricted.

“‘You can imagine a woman who had to cobble together money to leave her state and then take time off from work, come to Virginia alone, scarred,’ Favola says. ‘We should be able to provide that woman the peace of mind that she won’t be extradited.’”

MAGA minion Youngkin is following Trump’s toxic, anti-reproductive rights playbook. Trump laid the groundwork for attacks in the states on reproductive care.

Trump: “I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of… Roe v. Wade.”

Vanity Fair: “Trump Says He Wouldn’t Stop States From Tracking Individual Pregnancies So They Can Prosecute People Caught Getting Abortions”
###

Saturday News: “Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought”; “On Gaza, Biden is right and Netanyahu is wrong”; “Stop the Steal” Extremist Alito “flaunts his contempt for Americans”; If There Was Any Doubt Left, Youngkin’s Vetoes Prove He’s a Right-Wing Extremist

By
lowkell
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17

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 18.

Youngkin Vetoes Last Remaining Gun Safety Bills on His Desk; Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Respond 

By
lowkell
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2

From Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action:

Governor Youngkin Vetoes Last Remaining Gun Safety Bills on His Desk; Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Respond

RICHMOND, Va. – Today, the Virginia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statements after Governor Youngkin vetoed three lifesaving gun safety measures that were sent back to him after the Virginia General Assembly rejected his proposed amendments. This comes after Governor Youngkin signed five other bills to fight gun violence in the Commonwealth earlier this spring.

“After the progress we had made earlier this year, we had hoped that these three measures would also be signed into law,” said Shantell Rock, a volunteer with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “This serves as a reminder of why we fought – and will continue to fight – in every election to vote in lawmakers who will always put our public safety first. We’re grateful that our lawmakers sent these bills back to Governor Youngkin’s desk, and we’ll be back next session to make sure they become law.”

“This definitely wasn’t the outcome we wanted, especially after the bipartisan progress that was made earlier this session,” said Ava Saunders, a volunteer with the Hayfield Secondary School Students Demand Action chapter. “These are common sense bills that would have saved lives and now we’ll have to wait another year to make our communities safer . That’s time we can’t afford to waste. My generation won’t be deterred – we’ll be back until our communities are free from gun violence.”

The measures that were vetoed by Governor Youngkin today were:

  • HB 173 (Del. Simon) / SB 100 (Sen. Ebbin), which would regulate untraceable “ghost guns,” which are do-it-yourself, homemade guns assembled using unfinished, unserialized core parts and kits that can be acquired without a background check.
  • HB 498 (Del. Cohen) / SB 225 (Sen. Pekarsky), which would require school boards to annually notify parents of their legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household and information regarding the risks associated with improperly stored firearms, and
  • HB 861 (Del. Hernandez) / SB 515 (Sen. Williams Graves), which would prohibit firearms in any facility that provides mental health or developmental services, including hospitals and ERs.

Today comes after five other gun safety measures were enacted into law this session in Virginia with bipartisan support, including: HB 35 (Del. Clark), a bill to expand Virginia’s secure firearm storage tax credit to include more devices such as cable locks and further encouraging firearm owners to securely store their guns, HB 626 (Del. Rasoul) / SB 484 (Sen. Aird), a bill to create the Community Builders Pilot Program and Fund for Roanoke and Petersburg public schools to deter youth gun violence, HB 22 (Del. Jones) / SB 210 (Sen. Perry), a bill to prohibit auto sears, which are devices that convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons, HB 36 (Del. Willet) / SB 44 (Sen. Van Valkenburg), a bill to hold gun owners accountable for allowing children under their care with certain dangerous histories to access firearms, and SB 363 (Sen. Ebbin), a measure to prohibit the purchase, selling, or possession of a firearm with a removed, altered or defaced serial number.

In an average year in Virginia, 1,160 people die by guns and 1,624 people are wounded. Gun violence costs Virginia $14.2 billion each year, of which $288.3 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Virginia is available here.
About Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund (“Everytown for Gun Safety”) is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly ten million supporters and more than 700,000 donors including moms, mayors, survivors, students, and everyday Americans who are fighting for common-sense gun safety measures that can help save lives. Learn more at www.everytown.org and follow us @Everytown.
About Moms Demand Action
Moms Demand Action is the nation’s largest grassroots volunteer network working to end gun violence. Moms Demand Action is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization with nearly ten million supporters and more than 700,000 donors. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families, educates policymakers and parents about the importance of secure firearm storage and works to create a culture of gun safety through partnerships with businesses, community organizations and influencers. There is a Moms Demand Action chapter in every state of the country and more than 700 local groups across the country. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction, on Twitter at @MomsDemand and download our DemandAction app at https://momsdemandaction.org/app/.
About Students Demand Action
Students Demand Action is the largest grassroots, youth-led gun violence prevention group in the country with more than 800 groups and active volunteers in every state and the District of Columbia. The movement, created by and for teens and young adults, aims to channel the energy and passion of high school and college-aged students into the fight against gun violence. Students Demand Action volunteers organize within their schools and communities to educate their peers, register voters, and demand common-sense solutions to this national public health crisis at the local, state, and federal level. Students Demand Action is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly ten million supporters and more than 700,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit www.studentsdemandaction.org.

Senator Hashmi and Delegate Price Condemn Governor Youngkin’s Veto of Right to Contraception Act 

By
Blue Virginia
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4

From State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi and Del. Cia Price:

Senator Hashmi and Delegate Price Condemn Governor Youngkin’s Veto of Right to Contraception Act 

“Governor Youngkin is now on the record agreeing with the extremists in his party – including Donald Trump – who conflate contraception with abortion”

RICHMOND, Va. — Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) and Delegate Marcia “Cia” Price (D-Newport News) today issued the following joint statement in response to Governor Youngkin’s veto of their legislation to codify the right to use contraception in Virginia:

“Despite polling show widespread public support for the right to use contraception, despite the 37,000 petitions that were delivered to his office, and despite the clearly-stated threat to the Constitutional right to use contraception from the United States Supreme Court itself, Gov. Glenn Youngkin today made his position crystal clear: he will not protect Virginians’ freedom to use contraceptives, including IUDs and Plan B.

“To every Virginian paying attention, to the media preparing to cover this story, and most importantly, to everyone who relies on contraception for family planning and other critical health care needs: do not believe any more of this right-wing governor’s doublespeak as he continues to play both sides.

“This year, we introduced a simple bill that defined contraception and protected the right to use it. By vetoing our legislation, Governor Youngkin is now on the record agreeing with the extremists in his party – including Donald Trump – who conflate contraception with abortion.

“This is not the end of our fight. We will be back year after year until this bill is signed and the vital health care that Virginians rely on is protected. We do this so that Virginia can continue to be a beacon of freedom and reproductive justice in the South.”

Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine Cosponsor Legislation to Honor Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA10), Combat Parkinson’s and Related Conditions

By
Blue Virginia
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5

From Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine:

WARNER, KAINE COSPONSOR LEGISLATION TO HONOR REP. WEXTON, COMBAT PARKINSON’S AND RELATED CONDITIONS

~ The Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act would create and update a national plan to combat Parkinson’s and related diseases ~  

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (both D-VA) have cosponsored the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act. In April 2023, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) shared her diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, and in September of last year her diagnosis was upgraded to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare and incurable brain disorder that rapidly deteriorates mobility and speech.

Specifically, this legislation would direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set up a National Parkinson’s Project, under which HHS would create and update a national plan to address Parkinson’s and related conditions, including Rep. Wexton’s diagnosis of PSP, provide an estimate of research needs, and establish an advisory council that would report to Congress.

 “Our friend Jennifer Wexton has been a model of grace and perseverance in the face of a difficult diagnosis,” said the senators. “We are proud to introduce this legislation that will devote time and resources towards tackling Parkinson’s disease and its related conditions so that one day we can find a cure for this devastating disease.”

The National Parkinson’s Project is modeled after the National Alzheimer’s Project which, as co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, Sen. Warner led efforts to introduce and pass. Sen. Kaine is leading the bipartisan Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act, legislation to reauthorize funding for public health initiatives across the country to combat Alzheimer’s disease and preserve brain health.

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