VCDL Legislative report

[swinokur]

How well did your legislators represent you in the General Assembly this year? Now you can find out, as the 2016 General Assembly voting record is now complete.


2016 WAS AN UNUSUAL YEAR

This year was unusual, as we had a “deal” with the Governor consisting of three bills, one of which was a very important pro-gun bill that expanded Virginia’s reciprocity with other states. The other two other bills were acceptable as we made sure that they did not have a negative effect for gun owners.

Due to this unusual situation some of the regular anti-self-defense legislators voted for the reciprocity bill, which they probably wouldn’t have supported otherwise. And many of the pro-gun legislators supported both of the other two bills, when those legislators, too, probably wouldn’t have done so under normal conditions.

The result is that some of the anti-self-defense legislators have slightly higher scores than one might have expected, with no one getting a zero score.


HOW THE SENATE AND HOUSE DID AS A WHOLE

This year, in both the Senate and the House, the results were starker than I’ve seen before: even the WORST Republicans were better than the BEST Democrats when it comes to guns. That’s pretty sad, but shows how far the Democrats have drifted and why they are now referred to as the Party of Gun Control.


A LOOK AT THE SENATE

In the Senate, the Republicans were all neck-and-neck, with mostly one or two bad votes separating them. The pro-gun voting record for Republicans ranged from a perfect 100% down to 90%.

The Democrats ranged from a pro-gun voting record of 74% down to a low of 8%, all-in-all nothing to write home about.


A LOOK AT THE HOUSE

In the House, the Republicans were neck-and-neck much like the Senate, with mostly one or two bad votes separating them. The pro-gun voting record for Republicans ranged from a perfect 100% down to 75%.

The Democrats ranged from a pro-gun voting record of 56% down to a low of 2%, even more pitiful than their counterparts in the Senate.


AND THE WINNERS/LOSERS ARE…

In the Senate, it is a tie for the top position this year (100%): Senator Carrico and Senator Vogel took that top honor, with four other Senators a hair’s breath below them with a 100% voting record, too, but with fewer votes cast.

Senator McEachin has the worst score in the Senate - a miserable 8%.

In the House, there is a clear winner for the FOURTH TIME IN A ROW: Delegate Todd Gilbert with a perfect 100% score. There are 28 other Republicans nipping at his heals, all with 100% voting records, too, but none with as many votes cast.

There is a tie for the worst score between Delegates Herring and Watts, both with a horrific 2% rating. Four other Democrats were right behind them with a 2% score, but fewer votes cast.


THE COMPLETE RESULTS ARE NOW POSTED ONLINE

The results are on the VCDL website under the “VA Politics” menu. Alternatively, click here to see the 2016 voting record:

http://vcdl.org/resources/pdf/General Assembly Voting Score for 2016.pdf


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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

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