Republican delegate said they adjourned the special session because “We needed to make it go away”
RICHMOND – On July 9th, Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly adjourned the special session on gun violence prevention in fewer than 90 minutes and announced they would not re-convene until after the legislative elections this November.
Republicans have tried to respond to the public outrage by making excuses for their inaction. However, a Republican delegate admitted publicly the real reason that Republicans adjourned so quickly. The Roanoke Times reported that Delegate Chris Head said, “We came up with a strategy that would neutralize the issues… We needed to make it go away.”
House Democratic Caucus Executive Director Trevor Southerland responded, “Adjourning the special session was a disgusting display of cowardice by the Republicans. We don’t need to make the conversation on gun violence go away – we need to actually pass gun violence prevention to save lives. Unfortunately, we know that this was not Delegate Chris Head’s strategy alone – Speaker Kirk Cox, Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, and House Republican Caucus Chair Tim Hugo bear responsibility for the strategy, and every single House Republican needs to be held accountable for their votes to punt action until after the election.”
“As is clear from Chris Head’s remarks, the decision to adjourn was a deceitful, pre-planned strategy devised by Republicans well in advance of the session to appease the gun lobby and distract voters – and every single House Republican was on board. If Republicans don’t want to do their jobs and have the tough conversations, then Virginians will be sure to relieve them of that responsibility in November,” Southerland continued.