The Green Party of Virginia honors the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and calls for deescalation and nonviolent solutions as a highly contentious 2A rally gathers in Richmond, including outside groups far beyond Virginia, on this Martin Luther King Day. We must look to the root causes driving the gun rights controversy in a system that profits from our division.

In the words of Dr. King, “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”

At this time when we must ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure including the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline and Buckingham Compressor Station in Union Hill, Democratically controlled Virginia is threatening two new compressor stations, one in Prince William County and one in the city of Chesapeake, and the expansion of the existing Ladysmith compressor station in Caroline County.

The Arlington Green Party in an open letter to the Arlington Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos have asked her to stop prosecuting people caught with small amounts of marijuana in Arlington. She has prosecuted over 300 individuals over the past few years for marijuana possession, most of them young black and Latino men. The life of a person convicted of a felony is often ruined--federal student loans and Pell grants are prohibited, and a criminal record makes finding a job very difficult.

Since the previous State of the Union address, our country has continued to move in the wrong direction. In 2018, American carbon dioxide emissions increased by 3.4%, while fracked gas pipelines are threatening communities in Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and more. Hate crimes increased for the third straight year. Our military budget exploded once again, and our troops remain mired in overseas conflicts despite President Trump’s promises to bring some of them home.

RICHMOND, VA -- The Green Party of Virginia is appalled by the treatment of immigrant
children at Health and Human Services (HHS) centers across the country. The Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with Border Patrol agents, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), has forcibly taken nearly 2,000
children from their parents in the last several months. Despite President Trump’s statements,
there is no law forcing the President or any executive agency to remove children from the