I am writing to oppose the current slate of firearm restriction bills before the General Assembly. While these proposals are framed as public safety measures, in practice they disproportionately harm marginalized Virginians — including racial minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals (especially trans people), immigrants, and low-income residents — who often face higher risks of targeted violence and slower or unequal police response. These bills add costs, delays, and bureaucratic hurdles to exercising a fundamental right. Increased fees, mandatory waiting periods, feature bans, and expanded disqualifications fall hardest on people with limited financial resources, unstable work schedules, or justified concerns about their personal safety. For many vulnerable individuals, the ability to lawfully and promptly acquire a firearm is not about ideology, but about self-defense. History shows that restrictive gun laws are most aggressively enforced in minority communities, amplifying disparities in arrests, prosecution, and legal exposure — even when no harm has occurred. Expanding civil liability, criminal penalties, and subjective risk standards increases that risk. Public safety should not come at the expense of civil rights or equal access to self-protection. Policies that price people out of their rights or delay lawful self-defense do not address the root causes of violence and instead leave the most vulnerable less safe. I respectfully urge you to oppose these bills and support approaches that protect both public safety and the rights of all Virginians, regardless of income, identity, or background. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I fully support hb80 bill to withhold funding. There needs to be a reportable time frame for reporting after time of death for adults in custody, to who, where, then publicly available information, with cause of deaths for each facility.

I truly believe that the prison need to do away with solitary confinement. Isolating the inmates even if in their cells, mentally affects them and us. To punish inmates for one persons actions, is wrong. The dangers it can put the inmates mentally in, will either cause them lash out of frustration on each other, staff or harm themselves. My fiance and others are already on medication for mental health, and not being to live in humane conditions set them up for failure. My fiance is Muslim and Red Onion does not accommodate them properly. They serve food with mold on it. Shooting them in the face just because. I have heard they way talk to the inmates while I’m on a call with my fiance. Or he has to tell me hold on why he tries to de-escalate a CO about to shoot an inmate. So the family of the inmates all experience the treatment all well. I also feel that more thorough investigations in the hiring process of the COs need to be done. They are definitely killing the inmates and getting away with it. Why would my fiance and all the other inmates all report the same story back to us? While they are trying to survive the day to day, never knowing they next time they will see us, going long periods of time without eating, hear our voice, while possibly be assaulted then killed by it. A lot of family members of the inmates still live off on hope and faith, that we will see our loved ones again at home. But when they are stuck in a place that have staff that doesn’t want the best for them. They are setting them up for failure intentionally. So please pass these bills. Can a change be made for the better for human lives at stake. Thank you

Bill HB80- Deaths in prison Recently, William McLean "I'll Will" died at the infamous Red Onion state prison with little to no media coverage. The community will like to have light shed on William McLeans death prohibit covers ups and form a gateway to correct all sudden mysterious deaths in prison. As this tragedy raises concerns for others who's incarcerated or currently have family & friends that are incarcerated. This tragedy could have been anyones loved one. Being jailed should not be a death sentence which is now someones, son, brother, uncle, fathers reality. I keep the families in prayer.

Accountability andTransparency are prerequisites for justice, especially when the state is responsible for the lives of those behind bars. HB80 ensures that families are no longer kept in the dark regarding the circumstances of a loved one's death and holds facilities accountable through standardized reporting and funding consequences. S4JR believes that every life has value and that a lack of oversight in our prisons and jails only deepens the cycle of harm and distrust. Please vote in favor of HB80.

I support this bill, as an inmate I have seen CO’s perpetrate violence on inmates. I have been witness to denial or lack of health services that have caused death. These incidents are swept under the rug, blamed on overdoses - not knowing or some such unaccountable reason. People’s families deserve to know the truth of how they lose a loved one because no matter if you’re in prison, you’re a person and somebody cares. This will hold the dOC to a higher standard of taking possible death situations more seriously.

There is a law in place in which these doc officials feel as if they don't have to follow the law accountability is the problem they think they are above the law start filing the paperwork thats said to place on them when they disregard the law this is why men are in prison.failing to report is because they are all related nepotism and cartel actions needs to be addressed they need Rico charges brought on them any civilian would be sent to prison but they continue to do what they want and no accountability.