by shay bell
You all – no one – have been begging me for my thoughts on session so far, so who am I to deprave you any longer? I’ve had to suffer through some things this month that have made me regret my career path, and I’m ready to vent it all out. I’ve had to listen to continuous b*tching and moaning from white men scared of commonsense gun laws. These men being more afraid of a protection measure than of an ACTUAL weapon of deadly force is next-level dystopia.
It’s actually painful that I have to spend Black History Month listening to old white men monopolize my time for FAR too long with their long, redundant speeches on the NECESSITY of guns in our Commonwealth. Specifically, Senators Mark Obenshain and John McGuire have collectively wasted hours of my time mansplaining and coming up with various hypothetical scenarios in which carrying an assault rifle is somehow magically the answer to everyone’s problem. This issue has brought these Republicans down to their knees, begging their colleagues to oppose commonsense gun regulations. Simple policies that require the safe storage of guns in a home had Sen. Obenshain standing up to give 17-minute speeches in opposition. I’ve seen these Republican white men cry and suck their thumbs in an attempt to console their dead hearts as their precious little sticks of violence are being regulated. You’d think we were passing legislation to ban all guns everywhere forever. I absolutely can’t with these emotional, nonsensical a** men. In Portsmith, VA, ALONE, there have already been 19 reported shootings resulting in six fatalities. Just this week in Richmond, another shooting occurred leaving a teenager injured and yet another fatality. But we’re supposed to keep guns unrestricted because these men shed a few white tears? What about the bodies outlined on the grounds of the Commonwealth they’re being paid to represent. People are dying. People are being KILLED. Commonsense gun regulations will save lives and it’s in moments like these that I feel so sorry for Republican constituents who vote for people like Obenshain and McGuire who clearly don’t care about the people and who are willing to allow for more deaths to occur just so they can enjoy their freedoms.
Speaking of freedoms, it didn’t go unnoticed the amount of homophobia running rampant in the Senate. Pictured are the results of the legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Virginia. Look closely, is your Senator on the list? To the 17 NAYS on this list, there’s absolutely no debate. Love is love. If you don’t like it, close your eyes and mind the business that pays you. Don’t deny someone their right to love and marriage because you’re a bigot. Just because you’re unhappy and have f*cked up morals, it doesn’t mean we all have to suffer that same fate.
You asked – you didn’t – and I delivered my thoughts on session thus far. Thank you all for the space to vent, and I’m sure I’ll be back with another rant soon. In the meantime, keep an eye out for email action alerts on how to keep our Commonwealth progressive, and stay tuned into our social media platforms for quick snapshots of all the happenings on this 2024 legislative session.