by Kerry Dougherty
Lemme make sure I understand this: Virginia’s ACLU, that left-wing organization that sat on its derriere during Gov. Ralph Northam’s unconstitutional closure of churches and businesses, is suddenly active again.
Its lawyers want Virginia’s convicted felons to automatically get their voting rights back, even if they haven’t made restitution to their victims or paid their court costs. No matter how heinous their crimes or how repentant or unrepentant they are.
The priorities of this group are fully on display: they’re more worried about rapists and child molesters and carjackers being able to vote than they ever were about people of faith who simply wanted to attend worship services, or ordinary decent Virginians who simply wanted to earn a living during Covid.
Some of us waited in vain for those who claim to hold the U.S. Constitution dear to stand up to the dictatorial Gov. Northam, but the civil liberties crowd sat those battles out.
Yet now that a Republican governor is doing what the Virginia Supreme Court has ordered — that is, to review every felon’s request for a restoration of rights individually — they’re back in action.
The great defenders of civil liberties. For criminals, anyway.
Law-abiding Virginians who had their rights trampled? Meh.
There’s no reason to take this crowd seriously. And there’s no indication that Gov. Glenn Youngkin is turning down hordes of felons who yearn to exercise their franchise. In fact, according to the Virginia Mercury, Youngkin has restored the rights of about 4,300 felons in his first year in office.
That’s impressive. Indeed, it’s about as many restorations as Governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner handled during their entire four-year terms.
Of course it’s nowhere near the 206,000 that Terry McAuliffe illegally tried to get on the rolls in time to vote for his pal, Hillary. Until the Virginia Supreme Court slapped him down, that is.
McAuliffe and Northam together restored the rights of hundreds of thousands of felons. They also appointed the most corrupt parole board in Virginia history, which freed killers and other violent criminals. We know where their hearts were and it wasn’t with the public’s safety.
Look, second chances are important for felons who have served their time, paid their fines and made restitution to their victims.
Youngkin is giving every felon a form to fill out when they’re released from prison that requests their voting rights back.
Is that too much to ask from those who have broken laws and hurt law-abiding Virginians?
I don’t think so.
Republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed and Unedited.
