Ruth Bader Ginsburg taught men at the highest levels of power – and they were all men in the days she began her crusade – that gender, like race, is a construct. That the differences between men and women had been magnified by culture and centuries of unquestioned belief into ridiculous stereotypes. That gender roles confined women and men into prisons of conformity and put hurdles in the way of our individual pursuits of happiness. That women could be the best lawyers and have the finest legal minds. That men could be the kindest parents and caregivers. That the government had no business forcibly assigning us into designated slots. That we are all human. That those who would forcibly delineate male or female roles for us were as damaging to human freedom as the radical authoritarian states that would choose our professions for us.
Last week, I told you about the Good Apples Act, HB5112, my bill that requires law enforcement (the "Good Apples") to report the wrongdoing of their fellow officers (the "Bad Apples"). I'm happy to report it passed on Friday, by a vote of 54-43, on a party-line vote. It now must pass through the Senate and be signed by the Governor before it becomes law.
The General Assembly's Special Session called by Governor Northam has begun. We are focusing on passing a new budget, COVID-19 relief measures, and police and justice reforms. The House of Delegates has already passed some extremely important bills for COVID relief, protecting Virginians from eviction, and bolstering the safety and fairness of our General Election. The House of Delegates first convened on August 18 in Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center gymnasium, where the high ceilings allowed for good air circulation to prevent the spread of any dangerous particles that might have made it past the masks we were wearing, and the ample space allowed for proper social distancing.
Joe Biden has just picked Kamala Harris as his running mate, and I couldn't be more pleased. A winner of three statewide elections in America's largest state and a smart, tough, effective leader, Harris lives and breathes our country's progressive values. I'm confident she will give Biden good advice in the Oval Office and be an effective President, if necessary, in the event of tragedy.
I wanted to be sure you knew about two important developments in the fight to protect Virginians from COVID-19 and the economic crisis created by our federal government's utterly inadequate response to this pandemic: the launch of Virginia's first-in-the-nation COVID Exposure Notifications app, and an extension of the eviction moratorium through September 7. I have been hard at work preparing for our Special Session starting August 18. As the Chair of the Public Safety Subcommittee, I've been concentrating specifically on law-enforcement reform. I'll share more about what I'm working on for the Special Session in a newsletter next week.
I will be hosting Mark's Monthly Meetup virtually today, Sunday, July 26, from 1-3 pm, live via Zoom. As always, we'll be discussing whatever issues are important to you. This will be my last monthly meetup before the start of our Special Session on August 18. We will tackle a new budget, our COVID-19 response, and criminal justice and police reform. So it's a great time to discuss these issues.
In November 2019, you replaced the Republican majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate with a Democratic majority in both chambers of the General Assembly. You ousted House GOP leaders Kirk Cox and Todd Gilbert as leaders of the Western Hemisphere's longest-lasting legislative body, and replaced them with my friends, House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Majority Leader Charniele Herring. If you voted last year, contributed a dime to any Democratic candidate for the Virginia legislature, registered a single voter, or knocked a single door, you made all of this possible.