Alphonzo Miles has been in and out of Richmond’s criminal justice system for drug- and driving-related offenses several times in the past 20 years, and in each case he’s been represented by a public defender -- an attorney paid by the state to provide legal representation to individuals who...
As state lawmakers prepare to reassemble in Richmond for a special session on gun control after the Virginia Beach shooting, this statistic will likely be repeated often: In Virginia, more than 1,000 people die due to gun violence every year.That equates to almost three people every day. Guns take...
Attorney General Mark Herring, who announced in December he plans to run for governor in 2021, said Saturday he backs decriminalizing marijuana and eventually legalizing adult recreational use.“Virginia’s policy of criminalizing minor marijuana possession is not working,” Herring wrote in an op-ed published in the Daily Press, citing rising...
Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, is the only Democratic lawmaker in the General Assembly who was endorsed by the NRA during his last election.It was controversial in his district at the time, coming a month after an on-air shooting that killed a reporter and photojournalist working for a television station...
A new poll conducted by a gun control group in Republican-held Virginia legislative districts found that "voters from all persuasions are widely in support of common-sense gun reforms," including those Democrats will push during a special session to address gun violence next month.Public Policy Polling, of Raleigh, N.C., on...
By Kris Brown
Once again, our state is reeling from the epidemic of gun violence.
Twelve years after 32 people were shot and killed at my alma mater, Virginia Tech. Nine years after eight were shot and killed in Appomattox. Four years after Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot and...
The smart money is on a fruitless stalemate during the special session Gov. Ralph Northam has called on gun violence in the wake of the shooting that killed 12 in a municipal building in Virginia Beach.Republican leaders, who cling to narrow majorities in the House of Delegates and Senate,...
After the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech, survivors and their families spent years advocating to reform and tighten the state’s gun laws.Their efforts gained little traction in the General Assembly, which has instead loosened restrictions, repealing a 1993 law that limited handgun purchases to one a month.It’s a...
Virginia Beach, with its 450,000 people, typically boasts of its stellar public schools, miles-long sandy Oceanfront, high median household income and the Navy’s East Coast master jet base. Native son and entertainer Pharrell Williams put the place on the global map just a few weeks ago, when he hosted...
A mass shooting at a city office building in Virginia Beach has at least one local government official in Virginia renewing calls for legislation allowing localities to ban guns from municipal buildings.“We must be able to secure our city buildings,” tweeted Richmond Councilman Michael Jones.While all state office buildings...
