Richmond, VA -- The ACLU of Virginia today released its annual review of the Virginia legislative session. Civil Liberties Review: Virginia General Assembly 2011 describes approximately 100 bills introduced in the General Assembly that advance or diminish civil liberties in Virginia.
The bills are divided into 11 categories: First Amendment, Privacy, Death Penalty, Equal Rights, Reproductive Rights, Immigrants’ Rights, Women’s Rights, Voting and Elections, Criminal Justice, Felon Disenfranchisement and Open Government. Unless special instructions are included, all bills that passed and were signed by the Governor become law on July 1.
“The 2011 legislative record in Virginia is most noticeably marred by a last minute maneuver that could erode reproductive rights in the state and by the failure of legislators to deal with Virginia’s worst-in-the-nation felon disenfranchisement law,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis.
“There is little to cheer about this year,” added Willis, “but lawmakers did extend some protections for women who are victims of domestic violence by allowing protective orders in situations involving non-traditional relationships, and they addressed growing concerns about the fairness and validity of police line-ups.”
“We are concerned about a bill expanding the use of the E-Verify program for immigration checks on private sector employees,” said Willis. “It may look like a reasonable bill on its surface, but E-Verify is notoriously inaccurate and it could lead to legally present immigrants losing their jobs or not being hired in the first place.”
“The Senate deserves some praise for blocking a large number of anti-civil liberties bills passed by the House of Delegates,” said Willis. “The House, for example, approved bills to authorize school prayer over public address systems at high school football games, to allow police to place GPS tracking devices on cars without a warrant, to amend the state constitution to state that life and all legal rights begin at conception, and to require a government-approved ID in order to vote by regular ballot. Without the Senate, these wrong-way bills would have almost certainly become law in Virginia this year.”
The 18-page Review is available online at: https://www.acluva.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-Civil-Liberties-Review.pdf. A summary of some of the most important bills addressed during the session follows.
Contact: Kent Willi, Executive Director, 804-644-8022
Page numbers refer to Civil Liberties Review: Virginia General Assembly 2011
I. Civil Liberties Victories 2011
Passed bills that protect civil liberties
Failed bills that would have eroded civil liberties had they passed
II. Civil Liberties Defeats 2011
Passed bills that erode civil liberties
Failed bills that would have protected civil liberties
ACLU of Virginia, 530 East Main St, Richmond, VA 23219
Sign up to be the first to hear about how to take action.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy statement.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy statement.