A recording of the event can be heard by clicking here. 

Richmond, Virginia—Progress Virginia was joined by Senator Jennifer McClellan, Senator Louise Lucas, Delegate Marcia Price, and Delegate Marcus Simon on a Twitter Space this morning to spill the tea on all that went on during the legislative session. They covered everything from abortion access, voting rights, tax reform, education, gun violence prevention, the budget, and much more. 

“One thing that’s really important is that just because the odds of passing a bill change, doesn’t mean that we stop fighting,” Delegate Marcia Price said about the new divided government. “We still have to do the work, even if we know what the probable outcome is.”

“In 2020 and 2021, we made generational changes on so many issues that in some cases, we were waiting in some cases literally generations to do. It was very important to us that we hold the line,” Senator Jennifer McClellan said of the blue brick wall in the Senate. “I was incredibly proud of that, but it was hard work staying vigilant.” 

“There’s really no reason for [ghost guns] to exist, unless you are somebody who couldn’t pass a background check,” Delegate Marcus Simon said on his bill to ban ghost guns. “In 30 or 40 minutes, you can have a fully functioning firearm with no background check and no record that you bought it. We see these guns falling into the hands of people who shouldn’t have guns. These are really dangerous items, and there are gaping loopholes that I’d like to change.” 

“Tell me what sense does it make to have legalized marijuana and then have people who are still incarcerated for what has now been legalized?” Senator Louise Lucas asked when discussing her bill SB518. “I want these folks to have another shot at going before the courts and having their sentences reviewed again, especially because the vast majority of people incarcerated for marijuana offenses are Black and Brown people. So this bill made all the sense in the world to me, and I’m not one to give up.”