The north star for Steve's mission in Richmond will be removing barriers that make it harder for families to thrive.  Freedom to Family is all about making sure that our government is helping expand opportunities and not treading on your basic rights.

 

The decision of when or if to have a family is personal. Period. 

 

Steve understands that politicians don't belong in the room with you and your health care provider as you consider whether or not to have a child. As your representative, Steve will protect your reproductive freedom, so that you can make the health care decisions that are best for you and your family. That means saying no to harmful abortion bans.

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Good schools are key to a freethinking society.  

 

The leaders of tomorrow must understand the choices of yesterday. Steve believes that our history should be taught in schools without censorship. Our history must include our darkest days and highlight those who fought to bring the promise of freedom to those left out.  The contributions of Black and Native Americans and so many immigrant populations to America are an integral part of who we are. 

 

Steve will work to strengthen the ability of our teachers to organize and negotiate for better salaries and working conditions in every zip code.

 

The rich shouldn't be able to send their kids to private schools on your dime. Steve will protect public schools by voting no on voucher programs that undercut education funding and charter programs that privatize schools and serve only the students with the best test scores. 

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Our families need a future they can believe in.

 

Steve will support sensible policies that end fossil fuel pollution and prepare us for the changes we're already seeing in our climate.  He will speak up for local farmers and back policies that attract responsible businesses to our rural communities. 

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Farm families need the support of lawmakers.

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Steve will side with efforts to fund farmers wanting to mitigate the effects of harmful waste runoff into Virginia's waterways.  He will work across the aisle to help streamline regulatory filings that keep independent farmers stuck in red tape instead of doing what they do best, providing the food that comes to our tables. 

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The well-being of children should never be a political tool.

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No family should worry that when they drop their kids off at school, it might be the last time they see them. Yet current gun policies leave our kids at risk and make us all less safe. Conservative politicians are more interested in payouts from the gun lobby than making sure our kids are safe.  Steve will support gun reforms that most Americans believe are long overdue.

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Steve wants to resolve economic issues holding our families back.

 

Access to affordable housing, free health care and education, and fair wages makes it easier to bring up a family.  When we send him to Richmond, Steve will protect the interests of working families over lobbyists and corporations. As a former CWA member, Steve knows that unions support workers and they will have his support in return.  He will work to close the gender pay gap and to make it easier for all workers to organize in Virginia.

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Steve knows every generation matters and will push for solutions to the high costs of elder and child care.  

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Families need good options for their health.

 

Mental health and addiction services are all but non-existent in most rural areas.  Steve will team with fellow lawmakers to make sure these services are there to help make our loved ones whole again. 

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Maternal death is an ever-growing problem, but some politicians are more interested in forcing people to have children than they are in prioritizing healthy pregnancy outcomes. Steve will work to strengthen access to good prenatal care.

 

Regardless of a person's gender or who they choose to co-parent with, the least they should expect is that their government trust them to make the decisions that are right for their loved ones.  Politicians should not be getting in between parents, their children, and their medical teams when deciding the right path for gender-affirming care.  

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Steve believes that freedom means everyone.

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Radical right wing politicians are telling parents they can't take their family to see a drag show and deciding which books your kids can check out at the library.

 

Activist judges are stripping away precedents like Affirmative Action that were designed to prevent Black Americans from being excluded from higher education.

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Dreamers are still waiting for the promise of citizenship given to them a generation ago, uncertain of their future in the very country of their birth.

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The freedom to family means knowing that your government has your back without controlling your decisions. We have a lot of work to do to send Steve to Richmond, but his pledge is to take this journey for all of us and help set Virginia on a brighter path.

 

You Can Help.

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