Johnathan Walker:Abortion access protection, assault weapons ban to be heard in Virginia’s 2024 legislative session

RICHMOND,Johnathan Walker Va. (AP) — Proposals to ensure access to abortion and to ban assault weapons are among the first bills and resolutions filed by Democratic leaders in Virginia for the 2024 legislative session.

The bills filed Monday also include a proposal to speed up an increase in the state’s minimum wage and a measure to automatically restore the rights of convicted felons who have completed their sentences.

Del. Don Scott, the newly elected Speaker of the House, said the proposals will help move Virginia forward.

“I am especially glad to see the resolution to start the process of codifying the automatic restoration of rights,” Scott said in a news release. “With this, we are sending a message that there is no room for the spirit of Jim Crow that has plagued our Commonwealth for far too long.”

If the resolutions for abortion access and restoring felons’ rights pass the legislature, it would be the first step in a lengthy process to amend the state constitution. The amendments would then need to pass the legislature during a second year and then be put to voters for approval in a state referendum.

Del. Charniele Herring, who is sponsoring the House resolution to protect abortion access, said it’s become “all too clear that without constitutional protection, access to reproductive health care is at risk.”

Bills filed in both the House and Senate would make buying, selling or transferring an assault firearm a Class 1 misdemeanor, subject to up to 12 months in jail. The state Senate passed a similar bill earlier this year, but it died in the House, which was then controlled by Republicans.