Virginia Democrats Get Right To Work Implementing Their Radical Leftist Agenda | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Virginia Kruta.

    From tax hikes and lax election laws to leaf blower bans and Second Amendment infringements, Virginia Democrats have wasted no time implementing their radical agenda upon returning to power.

    With newly inaugurated Governor Abigail Spanberger at the helm, Virginia Democrats also control both chambers of the state legislature, meaning many items off their leftist wish lists could actually become law.

    At the top of the agenda - and dominating the headlines - seems to be implementing some kind of wealth tax. Lawmakers have already introduced several competing bills that would create new tax brackets with steeper rates for high earners. One bill would nearly double the state income tax rate for Virginians who make over a million dollars a year.

    As one prominent Virginia politics X account noted, these tax hikes could devastate family farms, small businesses, and sole proprietor companies, whose business profits can be taxed as part of their personal income tax returns.

    Virginians can also expect to take a hit through a proposed investment income tax, which would levy a 3.8% tax on all income from investments, trusts, and estates beginning in tax year 2027.

    Residents of the state will also likely face additional "sales and use" taxes, including one proposal to apply state sales tax rates to everything from gym memberships to home repairs and more.

    At least two proposed tax bills seem designed to infringe upon Virginians' Second Amendment rights: one would levy an 11% tax on all firearms and ammunition, and another would implement a flat $500 tax on all firearm suppressors. Other bills would ban "assault weapons" and certain magazines, while one would ban the discharge of firearms - even on private property - unless the property in question measures at least five acres.

    But taxes are just the tip of the iceberg. The Virginia legislature is also considering a number of bills that would make it difficult to root out voter fraud or increase transparency and election integrity.

    One such bill would remove the deadline for receipt of all absentee ballots, and extend the deadline for curing ballots from noon on the third day after the election to one full week after Election Day. Another includes a provision that would allow absentee ballots to be "received, marked, and cast electronically through the internet."

    Other proposals would bar election officials from double-checking "machine-readable" ballots with a hand count and make it far more difficult for voters to challenge the legality of another voter's registration.

    In addition to the tax- and election-related bills, Democrats have bills teed up to make the state softer on crime and illegal immigrants while throwing the book at legal residents who only want to exercise their First Amendment rights or do a little bit of yard work.

    One bill would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses, including but not limited to illegal sales of cigarettes and alcohol, "certain conduct punishable as involuntary manslaughter," and violations of certain provisions of protective orders.

    Two bills would help protect illegal immigrants in Virginia - one by barring officials from arresting illegal aliens in courthouses and another by fining employers who pay illegal aliens less than the established minimum wage. The latter bill does not fine businesses for employing illegal aliens.

    The First Amendment is not safe either, as SB 137 would make it a crime to approach within eight feet of another person who is standing within 40 feet of an abortion clinic - even if both parties are still standing on public property.

    A number of other bills have been proposed to promote a more "woke" Virginia, with one stripping tax-exempt status from any organization with ties to "Confederate" heritage. Another bill would officially change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day, while yet another would ban gas-powered leaf blowers.

    It's unclear which of these bills will pass and whether or not Spanberger - who ran as a moderate - will sign them. But if these early days of Democratic rule are any indication, Richmond is about to get a whole lot bluer.