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Democrats are pushing the same tired, default agenda that seeks to punish responsible gun owners exercising their constitutional right rather than being tough on criminals. Laws rely on compliance. If criminals won’t follow laws, it begs the question: How would the restrictive gun control measures proposed by Democrats prevent gun violence?

Rather than promote a restrictive gun control agenda that punishes responsible gun owners, House Republicans are advancing legislation to more effectively deter crime by ensuring criminals who actually commit heinous offenses with a firearm stay behind bars.

We defeated a variety of unconstitutional restrictions on guns that would have made a number of current legal gun owners felons.

We defeated some of the most extreme gun control legislation to date, including a state-funded firearm “buy-back” program – though the government never owned the gun to buy back in the first place.

Democrats want to increase the age threshold when one can own a gun to 21 years old, yet they want to lower the age to vote to 16 years old.

BUILDING SAFER COMMUNITIES

The House will pass legislation that will give police more tools to stop crime in our cities.

HB 1380 removes the provisions that provide that no law-enforcement officer may lawfully stop a motor vehicle for operating without a light illuminating a license plate, with defective and unsafe equipment, without brake lights or a high mount stop light, without an exhaust system that prevents excessive or unusual levels of noise, with certain sun-shading materials and tinting films, and with certain objects suspended in the vehicle.

HB 1380 passed the House and will be taken up by the Senate.

The House will also pass legislation that will help keep those accused of truly heinous crimes behind bars until trial.

HB 1365 creates a rebuttable presumption against bail for certain criminal offenses enumerated in the bill and for persons identified as being illegally present in the United States by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who are charged with certain offenses. The bill also requires the court to consider specified factors when determining whether the presumption against bail has been rebutted and whether there are appropriate conditions of release.

This bill passed the House and will be taken up by the Democrat controlled Senate. Republicans are keeping their promises to you, the taxpayer, so if you wonder why these commonsense bills do not become law, well, remember who to vote for this election year.

We pledged to voters that we would work to keep their families safe, and we intend to do just that.

VIRGINIA PAROLE

BOARD REPORT

Another issue you the taxpayer deserve to be enlightened on is the investigation into the Virginia Parole Board and its findings are shocking.

Chair Adrian Bennett allowed some truly heinous people to be released from jail.

For example, Hugh Brown was sentenced to life in prison for shooting his pregnant girlfriend to death and setting her body on fire.

Chair Bennett called his crime “sociopathic” in 2018 and he was denied parole in March 2020, but Chair Bennett ensured he received an “extra review” in April for his release.

She ordered staff to stop the victim notification system from alerting the victims.

Chair Bennett unilaterally discharged 137 violent offenders from parole supervision in her final days with the board – most of whom were convicted of capital or first-degree murder.

Chair Bennett falsified three parole discharge records for three first-degree murderers in violation of 18.2-472.

Chair Bennett unlawfully suspended Virginia’s “three strikes” parole ineligibility statute (Va. Code 53.1-151(B1)).

Chair Bennett violated eight court orders finding offenders were ineligible for discretionary parole.

This is just one of many examples that proves Governor Youngkin did exactly right to clean house at the Virginia Parole Board.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

I would like to thank our in-district visitors this week. They include Sharan Lyles and Crystal Walsh with VA. School Psychologist, Mecklenburg County Public Schools; Virginia Gills with Cumberland County Public Schools; Roger Hatcher, Angela Buchanan, and Taylor Clarke with Virginia Farm Bureau; and Sandra Langford, Mecklenburg County Treasurer; John Smith with Smart Transportation Union; and Sean Archer and Felicia Bell with VAPCP; Joining us from the electric co-op’s were Donnie Moore, Fletcher Jones, and David Lipscomb with Mecklenburg Electric and Brenda Johnson, Dr. Earl Currin, and Kristie Martin-Wallace with Southside Electric.

Del. Tommy Wright can be reached via email at DelTWright@House.Virginia.gov or (804) 698-1061.