Dear John,
Happy Pride Month! Sending best wishes for joy, rest, and fruitful community organizing and action during the next few weeks and beyond. Speaking of action, I want to share with you an opportunity to influence state-level policy right from your own city or town.
As you likely already know, the Virginia General Assembly meets in Richmond during a very short window between January and March each year to hear, consider, and vote on potential statewide laws. For the rest of the year, our state lawmakers largely spend their time in their home districts, working to get ready for the next General Assembly session. Every odd-numbered year, the legislature meets for only a 40-day session, which requires more preparation time in advance in order to use the session efficiently. Since 2025 will be an odd-numbered session, lawmakers can start submitting bills as soon as July 15th, 2024!
What does this mean for us? It means that we have a unique opportunity this summer to engage with our state legislators right before they start filing bills, AND while they are still in their home districts. It’s no secret that we need to both protect and further advance LGBTQ+ rights in Virginia, and there’s no time like the present to let our lawmakers know about the issues we’re facing in all corners of the Commonwealth and ask them to support pro-LGBTQ+ legislation.
