RICHMOND, Va. — The coronavirus pandemic upended a Virginia legislative session, as mask-wearing lawmakers met Wednesday under a giant tent outside the Capitol and car horns blared nearby from protestors unhappy with mandated business closings.
House Delegates met under a canopy outside while the Senate met at a giant event space at the Science Museum of Virginia a couple of miles away. Lawmakers were seated far apart and wearing masks instead of germ-carrying ties to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Proceedings in the House quickly stalled when members encountered technical issues voting during an attendance roll call.
Before the legislature convened, protesters on foot and in vehicles converged outside the Capitol. The drivers leaned on their horns and shouted in the direction of the Capitol and governor’s mansion. Many of the cars were flying American flags, “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, or President Donald Trump campaign flags and had signs affixed to their windows protesting Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive orders implementing business closures and social distancing measures. Some of the same vehicles circled repeatedly, and they mixed in with normal traffic like city buses.
Lawmakers set to take up Northam’s proposed changes to legislation passed earlier this year. Northam has proposed plans to delay some long-sought Democratic priorities until more is known about the pandemic’s effect on the economy, pushing back decisions on whether to give teachers and state workers raises, freeze in-state college tuition, and implement other new spending in the budget recently passed by lawmakers.
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