Sheer Stupidity

Earlier this week Governor Bob McDonnell responded to the recent shooting that occurred in New Town Connecticut by urging the Virginia legislature to pass legislation that would allow teachers and principals in the Commonwealth to arm themselves with guns in Virginia schools.

This proposal by the Governor will only put more lives in danger. As I stated last week in a blog and a video, the real answer to reducing gun violence in not only the Commonwealth of Virginia, but in the country as a whole, is to enact an assault weapons ban in the Commonwealth and reinstate the assault weapons ban at the Federal level.

We must strengthen the background checks for people who want to possess guns legally in the Commonwealth as well as the rest of the nation and we need to close the gun show loophole.

I also believe that magazines of the type that are used with assault weapons, like the ones used in Colorado, Connecticut, and Virginia Tech, should be subject to a stiff tax until they are completely banned.  Each assault with an assault weapon has extraordinary societal impact. Not only do these assaults cost lives, but they also raise the cost of healthcare.  Not only do they raise the cost of healthcare, but the survivors will very likely suffer severe emotional and physical injuries which mandate expensive care for the rest of their lives.  Simply put, it is better to ban these high caliber ammunitions and assault weapons completely because in the long run banning them will be savings to us.

I also will, once sworn in as Governor, institute a recurring gun buy back program for weapons of every kind in Virginia, and these buy back programs will occur twice a year.  Some people have stated that guns do not kill people - people kill people.  What is true without a doubt is that high caliber ammunition in these assault weapons does in fact kill people.

ENOUGH

How many more killings will it take? How many more parents must bury their children? How many brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, wives, and husbands must be buried because of the senseless gun violence? How many more children are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Second Amendment?

In a given year, there is an average of 20 mass shootings in the United States.  The moral question before us, is how many more killings will it take for us, as a nation, to conclude that the Second Amendment does not give us carte blanche permission to kill at will? The latest example of this is the mass killing of innocent school children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newport, CT.

For far too long, our society and our leaders, both at the Federal and State levels, have turned a blind eye to the increasingly violent society we find ourselves in.  Whether it is the Virginia Tech shooting of several years ago, the Columbine shooting, or the rash of shootings we have seen in 2012: such as the mass killings at the movie theater in Colorado, the shooting that occurred at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, and the shooting in New York City right outside the Empire State Building.  Also just a few days ago, a shooting occurred at a popular mall outside Portland, Oregon in which 3 people were killed. 

I know that it not a popular stand to speak out against the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is really not an issue. The right to bear arms in this country is a Constitutional right, but even rights can be reasonably regulated.  Many in the Conservative movement believe that there should be no restrictions on the right to bear arms.  Yet, it is this very theology, this true belief on the part of Conservatives in this country, that has led to an increasing number of mass shootings. This increasingly violent behavior has struck both the well known as well as the unknown. 

As you may remember, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was severely injured by an individual who had a mental illness, and who had obtained assault weapons.  While the former Congresswoman survived, others did not in that shooting, including a Federal District Judge.

Once elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I will move with full speed to ban assault weapons of every type in the Commonwealth.  Assault weapons are the most used in mass killings.  Assault weapons are of no use in hunting. 

I am not proposing a ban on all guns.  However, I think it’s more than reasonable for the next Governor to propose regulations that would completely ban all assault weapons including the glock, which was one of the weapons used in the shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut. 

Proposing such a reasonable ban will, I am sure, cause a political uproar in the Commonwealth.  But it is the right thing to do.  As your next Governor, I will propose such a ban.

Keep the Ban on Uranium Mining in Virginia

I want to discuss with you today an issue of critical importance to the well-being of the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia and our environment. Over the next several weeks the state legislature will decide whether or not to lift the 30 year ban on uranium mining in Virginia.  A few powerful uranium mining businesses are spending millions of dollars in an effort to have the ban lifted.  If the ban is lifted, it would cause severe damage to our environment here in Virginia.

• Our water and food systems would be contaminated.
• We would see increasing rates of cancer and other health problems throughout the Commonwealth.
• The mined uranium would be shipped out of state, while the radioactive waste would remain in  our environment here in the Commonwealth for centuries.

Our environment should not be raped for the benefit of a few large uranium mining corporations.

As your Governor, I would do everything that I can to ensure that the ban against Uranium is maintained.  If the ban is lifted before I become Governor, I will lead a full-fledged effort to reimpose such a ban as soon as possible.

A useful fact sheet can be found here.

Sign the petition to keep the ban on Uranium mining in Virginia here.

Matt The Democrat Famiglietti
Candidate for the Democratic Nomination for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Contribute today!

Today I Give Thanks

Today I Give Thanks

On October 3,1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving asking the American people to set aside the last Thursday in November to give thanksgiving to God for the gifts bestowed upon the American people.  Below is the actual Proclamation by President Lincoln:


By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State


I was intending to cut a YouTube today to wish all Virginians a most blessed Thanksgiving. However, due to personal circumstances that occurred earlier this week I am unable to do so.  My wife and service dog were in a collision on Tuesday morning which nearly totaled our van. I'm happy to report that neither my wife nor my service dog Buddy were seriously injured.  Today I give thanks for their safety and health, among other things.

I would ask each Virginian to take a moment today to remember the blessings that Almighty God has bestowed on our Commonwealth and Country.  I hope and pray that you will all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

The Moral Obligation

The Moral Obligation

It is a core principle of my campaign for Governor to ensure the safeguarding of the environment.  Those who argue against the theory of climate change have been, and still are, ignoring the facts that are right in front of them.  The latest dramatic example of climate change is Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of the East Coast last week, and which is still causing misery for millions of our fellow citizens.

Hurricane Sandy was the second major hurricane to impact large parts of the East Coast in the last 14 months.  A year ago Hurricane Irene impacted many of the same areas as Sandy impacted last week, including New York.  During Irene, much of lower Manhattan and Staten Island were inundated with floodwaters. At the time, Irene was considered a storm that occurs every 100 years.  Now, just over a year later, we've had another hurricane hit New York, with greater ferocity and death and destruction than Irene.

This past spring we saw the mid-West raked by a series of F5 tornados, which destroyed multiple towns.  These tornados were also called one hundred year events.  The United States has recorded the warmest year on record since weather records started being kept in 1895.  That is 132 years ago.  Yet, we are told, by a significant minority of Americans, that climate change is not real and that these are just isolated events, just part of a normal weather pattern.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  These events keep occurring. They are not isolated in nature.  They will continue to increase in number and ferocity if we do not do something to end our dependence on fossil fuels.

The United States has 2% of the world's oil, and 25% of the world's population.  It is clear that even if we were to drill every last drop of oil on the continent of the United States it would not be sufficient to meet our energy needs.  There is no way on God's green earth (pun intended) that we are going to dig our way out of our energy addiction.  As long as we are dependent on fossil fuels in any great amount we will lack the political will to develop the green energy solutions that are technically available today, including the use of solar, wind, and bio-fuels.  The question before us is how many deaths and how much more destruction we are going to allow before we accept that we must change.

If we do not face reality, and if we do not have leaders who will help us face that reality, the seas will continue to rise, the planet will continue to warm, the ice caps will continue to melt, and the human race will ultimately cease to exist.  As a Christian, I feel I have a moral duty placed upon me by God, to be a good caretaker of the planet, and I believe that the vast majority of the American people feel the same way.  There is no reason why we cannot create a more sustainable planet and, by doing so, create economic prosperity at the same time.  My favorite quote, by a leader of vision, is that of John Kennedy who said in part  in his inaugural, that "here on earth God's work must truly be our own", and I believe that part of our work, and part of doing God's work, is to preserve the planet, not only for ourselves, but for future generations.

I am asking each Virginian, regardless of party or religious affiliation, to join my campaign to help us provide a more sustainable planet and to create economic prosperity.

Vote for Tim Kaine for Senate Tuesday

Vote for Tim Kaine for Senate Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I am asking all my fellow Virginians to vote for Tim Kaine for US Senate this coming Tuesday.  It is important that we have a capable United States Senator to replace the retiring Jim Webb.  Governor Kaine has shown that he has tremendous leadership skills and will continue to work together with our Congressional Delegation to do what is best for Virginia and the people of the Commonwealth.

Vote for Barack

Vote for Barack Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Need for Expanded Medicaid

As Governor, I will accept and implement the expanded Medicaid program in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  

The expanded Medicaid program will increase the quality of healthcare for many Virginians.  Medicaid is used to ensure that the poorest among us have some access to medical care.  The elderly and the disabled are the most frequent users of Medicaid.  Moreover, 70% of all our elderly in nursing homes ultimately end up relying on Medicaid once their Medicare benefits run out.  An acceptance of the expanded Medicaid program would ensure that the elderly in our nursing homes in the Commonwealth would not face the real possibility of being turned out into the streets, and that the severely disabled have their needs met.  For example, it is far cheaper to keep and care for the severely disabled within their homes, if possible, than to have the younger disabled population be forced into nursing homes. 

The Supreme Court held that while the expanded Medicaid option could not be forced upon the States, the States could voluntarily accept the expanded program.  There is no reasonable basis for the rejection of the expanded Medicaid option.   My Republican opponent has made clear that he opposes the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act that the Supreme Court recently found to be constitutional.  

Virginia Democratic Party Chooses Primary

Virginia Democratic Party Opts for a Primary to Select Nominee for Governor in 2013

Yesterday in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia voted, with some minor opposition, to hold a Primary in June of next year to select a nominee for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General.

I am extremely happy that our party has chosen to hold a primary for these constitutional offices in the Commonwealth.  I believe that a primary is the most democratic way to choose our party slate for 2013, and I look forward to engaging in a vigorous debate with those who also will be running in the primary for the nomination for Governor of the Commonwealth.