RICHMOND, VA – The Virginia General Assembly has passed a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution which will create a partisan commission of legislative elites and their chosen citizens to draw new district lines in Virginia. This amendment is being falsely sold as a solution to gerrymandering. In reality, it will reinforce partisan politics in Virginia by giving these legislators the power to decide Virginia’s congressional and legislative districts every 10 years.

The Green Party of Virginia honors the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and calls for deescalation and nonviolent solutions as a highly contentious 2A rally gathers in Richmond, including outside groups far beyond Virginia, on this Martin Luther King Day. We must look to the root causes driving the gun rights controversy in a system that profits from our division.

In the words of Dr. King, “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”

At this time when we must ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure including the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline and Buckingham Compressor Station in Union Hill, Democratically controlled Virginia is threatening two new compressor stations, one in Prince William County and one in the city of Chesapeake, and the expansion of the existing Ladysmith compressor station in Caroline County.

The Arlington Green Party in an open letter to the Arlington Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos have asked her to stop prosecuting people caught with small amounts of marijuana in Arlington. She has prosecuted over 300 individuals over the past few years for marijuana possession, most of them young black and Latino men. The life of a person convicted of a felony is often ruined--federal student loans and Pell grants are prohibited, and a criminal record makes finding a job very difficult.

Since the previous State of the Union address, our country has continued to move in the wrong direction. In 2018, American carbon dioxide emissions increased by 3.4%, while fracked gas pipelines are threatening communities in Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and more. Hate crimes increased for the third straight year. Our military budget exploded once again, and our troops remain mired in overseas conflicts despite President Trump’s promises to bring some of them home.