Tag Archives: Ralph Northam

The Associated Press reports: The governor signed legislation Wednesday making Virginia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, a dramatic shift for the commonwealth, which had the second-highest number of executions in the U.S. The bills were the culmination of a yearslong battle by Democrats who argued the death penalty has been applied disproportionately to people of color, the …

Just in via press release: Governor Ralph Northam today restored the civil rights of more than 69,000 Virginians using new eligibility criteria that mirror a proposed change to the Constitution of Virginia that would automatically restore voting rights to individuals upon completion of their sentence of incarceration. Governor Northam announced that going forward, any Virginian released from incarceration will qualify …

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia’s governor during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing in Michigan. Special Agent Richard Trask was part of the investigation that led to six men being arrested and charged last week with plotting to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Seven …

ABC News reports: Governor Ralph Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam have tested positive for COVID-19. The two were notified Wednesday evening “that a member of the Governor’s official residence staff, who works closely within the couple’s living quarters, had developed symptoms and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19,” a press release from the Governor’s office says. “Both the Governor and …

CNN reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Sunday that he signed a series of new measures into law aimed at expanding access to voting in the commonwealth. The new legislation will establish Election Day as a holiday, remove the requirement that voters show a photo ID prior to casting a ballot and, expand early voting to be allowed 45 days …

The Washington Blade reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Saturday signed a bill that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law. “This legislation sends a strong, clear message — Virginia is a place where all people are welcome to live, work, visit, and raise a family,” said Northam in a statement. “No longer will LGBTQ Virginians …

USA Today reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a slate of gun control measures into law Friday that will increase background checks, limit handgun purchases and establish a so-called “red flag” law. Guns became a divisive issue in Virginia after Democrats won full control of the state’s General Assembly in November, and Northam, a Democrat, promised to pass the host …

Axios reports: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued stay-at-home orders on Monday, with exceptions for residents engaged in essential services, including health care and government functions. The states are the latest to announce policies to enforce social distancing, which have affected almost 250 million Americans. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide had been asked to stay …

Roanoke’s CBS News affiliate reports: The Supreme Court of Virginia denied the petition by plaintiffs seeking to overturn Gov. Ralph Northam’s firearms ban at Capitol Square, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s office announced Friday evening. This comes after Herring filed a brief with the Supreme Court of Virginia Friday in response to an appeal made to that court by plaintiffs …

The Associated Press reports: Gun-rights groups asked a judge Thursday to block Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam from banning guns on Capitol grounds during a massive pro-gun rally scheduled for next week. Northam on Wednesday announced a state of emergency and banned all weapons from the rally, citing threats that armed militia groups were planning to attend. The Virginia Citizens Defense …

Roanoke’s CBS affiliate reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) declared a State of Emergency ahead of Monday’s planned pro-gun rally on Capitol Square. According to Northam’s statement, “Law enforcement intelligence analysts have identified credible threats of violence surrounding the event, along with white nationalist rhetoric and plans by out-of-state militia groups to attend.” All weapons, including guns, will be prohibited …

The Associated Press reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday he will summon lawmakers back to the state Capitol to consider a package of gun-control legislation, saying last week’s mass shooting in Virginia Beach calls for “votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers.” Northam, a Democrat confronted with a Republican-controlled General Assembly in the middle of an election year, also …

The Washington Post reports: Virginians are deadlocked over whether Gov. Ralph Northam (D) should step down after the emergence of a photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page depicting people in blackface and Ku Klux Klan garb, with African Americans saying by a wide margin that he should remain in office. The poll, conducted Wednesday through Friday, finds residents …

The Washington Post reports: Gov. Ralph Northam (D), amid continued calls for his resignation over a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook, sought to defend his determination to remain in office by promising to pursue racial reconciliation. “I overreacted,” he said, by putting out a statement taking blame for the picture. “If I had it to do over …

Buzzfeed News reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, still facing calls to resign as governor a week after the revelation that his page in a medical school yearbook features a racist photograph, is now tightly focused on coming up with plans to survive. His office has begun to explore how it might recalibrate Northam’s legislative agenda to focus closely on race …

The Washington Post reports: The head of the medical school whose yearbook sparked controversy after racist photos surfaced on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s page in 1984 got rid of the annual after he found pictures of students in Confederate garb, according to a report on Monday. Shortly after Provost Richard Homan hired Mekbib Gemeda as vice president of diversity at …

The Hill reports: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Monday came to the defense of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), saying he shouldn’t yet resign despite the revelation that his medical school yearbook page included a racist photo. Lieberman said during an interview on CNN that there has been a “a rush to judgment that is unfair to” Northam. “One, …

Politico reports: An apologetic but defiant Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam refused calls to resign Saturday from his own state party and nearly every major Democratic presidential contender after a picture on his medical school yearbook page surfaced showing a picture of two men dressed as a Ku Klux Klansman and in blackface. “I believe then and now that I am …

Norfolk’s WAVY reports: Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to make a statement from the Executive Mansion at 2:30 p.m. according to the Office of the Governor. The governor’s communications director tells WAVY Capitol Bureau reporter Sara McCloskey Northam is not resigning. After the picture went public Friday, Northam issued a statement saying he was “sorry for the decision I made …

The Washington Post reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is refusing to resign despite overwhelming pressure from within his own party and has told at least one lawmaker that he now does not think that a racist photo in his 1984 yearbook includes him, Democratic party officials said Saturday. Northam publicly apologized Friday for the medical school yearbook photo and …