1 Mar 2021
A bill to rename “Jefferson Davis Highway” on U.S. Route 1 to “Emancipation Highway” passed the Virginia Senate Thursday in a 30-9 vote.
The bill, which Del. Josh Cole (D-Fredericksburg) introduced, was approved by the Virginia House of Delegates by a 70-28 vote this month.
The legislation will be headed to Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) desk for his signature, after which it will become law effective January 1, 2022.
But even after the Senate vote, it remains unclear if the affected localities of Fredericksburg will rename U.S. 1 within their borders.
The bill only applies to areas in the state where U.S. 1 is still named after former Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Testimony was provided by Judy Shepherd, mother of Matthew Shepherd, a gay student who was tortured and murdered in 1998, as well as LGBT+ advocacy organisation Out & Equal.
After the vote to pass the bill, Roem explained on Twitter: “For those wondering how often this comes up in court in Virginia, we presented eight cases and documented a ninth during committee.
“All of these cases, the murder/assault of an LGBTQ person was blamed on the victim by the perpetrator who hoped to play on the fears/prejudice of the judge/jury to either have a sentence reduced or dismissed.
That is not nearly an exhaustive, complete list… This [bill] means someone’s mere existence as an LGBTQ person does not excuse someone else and does not constitute a reasonable provocation to commit such a heat of passion attack.”
State Sen. Amanda Chase railed hard against colleagues in the Virginia Senate Thursday for considering the possibility of censuring her for “disorderly behavior” by attending the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally in Washington that ended with a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.
State Sen. Amanda Chase railed hard against colleagues in the Virginia Senate Thursday for considering the possibility of censuring her for “disorderly behavior” by attending the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally in Washington that ended with a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.