The Washington Post described Northam as a moderate state senator who moved to the left on some issues during the 2017 gubernatorial Democratic primary, such as support for a $15 minimum wage and opposition to a state constitutional amendment enshrining
right-to-work legislation.
Abortion Northam supports
abortion rights. As a Virginia state senator, he opposed a bill to mandate
vaginal ultrasounds for women seeking abortions, and voted against the bill when it was revised to mandate only abdominal ultrasounds. He was endorsed in the 2017 Democratic gubernatorial primary by the abortion rights group
NARAL and its Virginia affiliate. Northam argued for reducing abortion rates through education and expanding access to contraceptives. Northam opposes banning abortions after 20 weeks through a state version of the
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. For third-trimester abortions, Northam supported Virginia's law requiring certification by multiple physicians. During a January 2019 radio interview, Northam said that third-trimester abortions may be done in cases of a non-viable fetus or severe deformity. If a delivery occurred in such cases, Northam further stated that, "The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother." This statement drew intense criticism from Republican politicians nationwide, many of whom accused Northam of supporting infanticide. Northam's office refuted such criticism as a mischaracterization of his comments.
Animal welfare As a state senator, Northam introduced a bill to ban the use of
gas chambers on
companion animals in Virginia, addressing a means of
euthanasia that has been described by medical experts as less humane than
lethal injection. The ban was signed into law by
Tim Kaine in 2008. During Virginia's 2017 gubernatorial election, Northam was endorsed by both the
Humane Society Legislative Fund and
Humane Dominion. That same year, Northam signed a law banning state-funded, medically unnecessary experiments in Virginia that induce unalleviated pain in cats or dogs; this law, which defines "medically unnecessary" experiments as those not done for the benefit of the animal test subjects, is the first of its kind in the United States and passed with unanimous support in the Virginia state legislature. In 2019, Northam signed a law classifying the physical abuse of cats and dogs as a felony in Virginia; previously, such abuse had been classified as a misdemeanor in Virginia, unless it resulted in an animal's death; it was not until later that year that federal law made abuse against all kinds of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles a federal felony. That same year, Northam vetoed a bill that would have established a mandatory minimum sentence of six months for the killing or injuring of a police animal. Noting that Virginia law already classified violence against police animals as a felony, Northam explained his veto by arguing against the value of mandatory minimum sentences and stating, "While violence is unacceptable, these are crimes that can be addressed by a judge with full knowledge of the facts and circumstances of each particular case." Prior to 2019, tethers used on pets were required by Virginia law to be at least three times the animal's length; the law signed by Northam in 2019 changes this to at least ten feet or three times the animal's length, whichever is greater. In 2020, Northam signed a law revising this to fifteen feet or four times the animal's length, whichever is greater. The 2020 law allows the 2019 standard to be enforced when an animal control officer determines that a shorter tether would be preferable. The 2019 law also established that tethers must weigh no more than one-tenth the animal's body weight, cannot be weighed down, and cannot be painful. In 2020, Northam signed a law banning the tethering of animals in extreme weather or temperatures (except for when an animal control officer determines that a tethered animal can safely tolerate such conditions); this law also requires that tethered animals be safe from predators. Northam proposed an unsuccessful amendment to this bill; his amendment would have expanded the state government's definition of a commercial dog breeder to include any person who breeds dogs for research purposes. This amendment was proposed following revelations of poor conditions at a breeding facility in
Cumberland, Virginia. Housing thousands of
beagles bred for research purposes, the Cumberland facility is the largest of its kind in the state and would have faced increased regulation had Northam's amendment been enacted. Although widely supported among animal rights organizations, such as
PETA and the
Humane Society of the United States, Northam's amendment was opposed by the bill's sponsor,
David W. Marsden, who claimed that the amendment could potentially cause the Cumberland facility to close. Northam agreed to rescind his support for the amendment, while Marsden expressed a desire to implement a revised approach to the amendment's goals in 2021. ban any sale or loan in which a default could result in the repossession of any cat or dog; ban any hunt that guarantees the killing of a deer, bear, or wild turkey; ban any contact between the public and certain types of dangerous animals in captivity; limit the circumstances in which any cat or dog is allowed to be leased or rented; The law banning public contact with dangerous animals applies to any bear, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, nonhuman primate, tiger, or hybrid of such animals; as first written, the bill would have applied to elephants as well, but before the bill passed, it was revised to exclude elephants.
Civil rights On March 8, 2019, Northam signed a bill repealing a minimum wage exemption that had applied to several jobs historically associated with black workers; a remnant of the Jim Crow era, the exemption had applied to
shoe-shiners,
ushers,
doormen, concession attendants, and theater cashiers. A month before signing this bill, Northam had faced scandals over racist content found in his college and medical school yearbooks and responded to calls for his resignation by pledging to prioritize racial justice issues throughout the remainder of his term in office. The commission was assisted by students from
Virginia Commonwealth University, the
University of Richmond School of Law, and the
University of Virginia School of Law. The commission stated, "Though most of these pieces of legislation are outdated and have no legal effect, they remain enshrined in law. The Commission believes that such vestiges of Virginia's segregationist past should no longer have official status." These laws were repealed in a bipartisan package of bills signed by Northam on April 11, 2020. On June 11 of that year, Northam authorized the commission to enter a new phase of research; this phase is focused on identifying modern laws and regulations that have contributed to social inequities in Virginia. The commission will also devise policies to remedy those inequities. Chief Deputy Attorney General of Virginia
Cynthia Hudson, who chairs the commission, said about this second phase of work, "it's certainly not my expectation to find the expressly racist language and intent that we found in the Acts of Assembly from generations ago. So, the nature of the work will turn to trying to discern what the impact is from an equity perspective of current law that might not on its face appear discriminatory, but in its effect, disproportionately impacts people of color and other under-represented communities." On March 4, 2020, Northam signed a bill making Virginia the fourth US state and first southern state to ban racial
hair discrimination. The bill passed with unanimous support in the state senate. Upon signing the bill, Northam remarked, "It's pretty simple - if we send children home from school because their hair looks a certain way, or otherwise ban certain hairstyles associated with a particular race - that is discrimination. This is not only unacceptable and wrong, it is not what we stand for in Virginia." On April 11 of the same year, Northam signed the bipartisan Virginia Values Act, which applies anti-discrimination protections to
public accommodations. Prior to the bill, Virginia had been one of five US states that did not have any such protections. An additional civil rights bill signed by Northam in 2020 established a process for the removal of racially exclusionary
housing covenants from property deeds in Virginia; these covenants had been widely adopted throughout the United States in the early-twentieth century for the purpose of banning racial minorities from living in certain areas. Although all such covenants had become legally unenforceable in the 1960s, little had been done by 2020 to purge the covenants from official legal records. The bill signed by Northam in 2020 allows property owners to have the covenants removed without the need of an attorney. Later in the year, during a special legislative session largely devoted to racial justice issues, Northam signed a bill making it a hate crime in Virginia for someone motivated by bias against any
protected group to make a false report to law enforcement. Northam later reverted to his original stance that decisions on the monuments should be made locally. In early June 2020, Northam announced the removal of
Robert E. Lee Monument on Richmond's Monument Avenue in response to
Black Lives Matter protests after the
murder of George Floyd.
Criminal justice Felony larceny threshold After Northam was elected governor,
The Washington Post identified an opportunity for bipartisan legislation in raising Virginia's
felony larceny threshold. Set at $200, the threshold was then tied with
New Jersey for lowest in the nation. The threshold's value had not been raised since 1980, and had it kept pace with inflation, would have been equal to around $600 in 2017. Outgoing governor Terry McAuliffe attempted during his final year in office to raise the threshold's value to $500 but was unable to advance such a proposal through the legislature. During Virginia's 2017 gubernatorial campaign, Northam's opponent, Ed Gillespie, voiced support for the $500 threshold, while both Northam and McAuliffe called for the threshold to be raised even further to $1,000, McAuliffe had vetoed a comparable restitution bill the previous year.
The Washington Posts editorial board called Northam's compromise "a small step toward fairer justice in Virginia", but voiced concern that the restitution bill would place an onerous burden on poor defendants; the editorial board also noted that the $500 threshold would still be one of the country's lowest and, when adjusted for inflation, under the level that had been set in 1980.
The Roanoke Times described this action as fulfilling one of Northam's "criminal justice reform priorities". Northam campaigned on an official end to this practice, while Gillespie wanted to "functionally end" the practice through the use of payment plans. At that time, Virginia was facing a class action lawsuit over this issue. While advocating for a repeal of the practice, Northam remarked, "Often, people don't pay court costs because they can't afford it. Suspending their license for these unpaid fees makes it that much harder on them." the publication also wrote that Virginia's policy was among the strictest in the nation, as Virginia was one of the few states where the debt-based suspension of driver's licenses was not limited to cases in which money was owed due to traffic violations. In January 2019, the Virginia state Senate passed a bill that would have repealed the penalty of suspending driver's licenses for unpaid debt, but that February, a Republican-controlled subcommittee in the House of Delegates defeated the bill. In March of that year, a repeal of this penalty was included by Northam as an amendment to the state budget. The penalty could not be fully repealed by the budget. Instead, the budget was able to pause the penalty for one year. Virginia's legislature adopted Northam's proposed budget amendment, which also reinstated driver's licenses that had been suspended solely for unpaid debt. This occurred in the wake of a commitment from Northam to focus the remainder of his tenure on combating racial inequities in Virginia. While developing that year's state budget, Northam was embroiled in scandals concerning racist content found in his college and medical school yearbooks. Explaining how the criticism he had faced over these scandals was informing his approach to the state budget, Northam said, "There's a level of awareness regarding race inequities in Virginia that we have never seen - that I have never seen in my lifetime. I am going to do everything...to really bring some good from the events that happened six weeks ago...Actions speak louder than words, and now is our opportunity over the next three years to really take action." That same month, Northam signed separate legislation ending the suspension of driver's licenses in Virginia both for non-driving related drug offenses and for theft of motor fuel. He also repealed a mandatory minimum sentence of ten days that Virginia had been imposing on third or subsequent convictions of driving with a suspended license. Virginia was among the first US states to end the practice of suspending driver's licenses for outstanding debt Only prisoners sentenced before 1995 or under a youthful offender statute remained eligible for parole after the enactment of the 1995 ban, unless they qualified for
geriatric parole, which was not abolished. Northam's administration argued that Virginia's parole ban had exacerbated the state's racial inequities, led to an increase in elderly inmates receiving costly medical care at the state's expense, and strained the state's prison capacities. One of these circumstances addressed certain prisoners sentenced during the first five years of the parole ban. Before the 2000
state Supreme Court case
Fishback v. Commonwealth ruled that juries in Virginia must be informed of the state's parole ban, many juries in Virginia had been unaware of the ban. Prisoners sentenced by these uninformed juries came to be known as the "
Fishback inmates". Virginia remained at the time one of the few states where juries could determine sentencing, and in some cases, an uncorrected misconception among juries that parole still existed in Virginia increased the length of sentences imposed on these inmates. An effort to extend parole eligibility to the Fishback inmates was undertaken by Northam's gubernatorial predecessor, Terry McAuliffe, but McAuliffe was unable to earn support for such a measure in the state's legislature. Northam continued that effort unsuccessfully for the first two years of his own governorship Under reform signed by Northam that year, all
Fishback inmates still incarcerated became eligible for parole, except for those who had been convicted of a
Class 1 felony or the sexual abuse of a minor. By the time Northam signed this bill, the cause of the
Fishback inmates had largely won favor among prosecutors in Virginia, according to the Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys. Another piece of parole reform enacted by Northam in 2020 concentrates on juvenile offenders. At the start of Northam's governorship, Virginia law denied parole eligibility to nearly all juvenile offenders sentenced as adults after 1995. Only those sentenced under a youthful offender statute still qualified. Under Virginia law, only prisoners older than sixty who have served at least ten years of their sentences or those older than sixty-five who have served at least five years of their sentences qualify for geriatric release. In 2020, Virginia's legislature considered, but did not pass, a bill backed by Northam that would have created two additional categories of inmates eligible for geriatric release: those older than fifty-five who have served at least fifteen years of their sentences and those older than fifty who have served at least twenty years of their sentences. This
compassionate release policy for terminally ill inmates was the second most restrictive in the country, and Virginia remains the only state that does not tailor any form of early release to inmates with complex, nonterminal illnesses or permanent disabilities.
Sentencing and prison reform Although early in his governorship, Northam signed a bill imposing a new
mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison for those convicted of murdering a police officer, in May 2019, he vowed not to sign any further legislation imposing mandatory minimum sentences. In an op-ed for
The Washington Post, he argued that such legislation is racially discriminatory and leads to over-incarceration. That same year, he enacted further reform for juveniles in the Virginia justice system by signing a bill that requires judicial approval for anyone under the age of sixteen to be tried as an adult; Virginia law had previously given prosecutors the discretion to charge anyone fourteen years or older as an adult. In December 2019, Northam directed the
Virginia Department of Corrections to suspend a policy that had allowed strip-searches to be performed on minors during prison visitations. In April 2020, he signed legislation making the suspension of that policy permanent and barring prisons from threatening permanent bans on visitors who refuse to be strip searched. Although it had already been against the policy of the Virginia Department of Corrections to permanently ban visitors who refuse to be strip searched, there had been several instances of prisons threatening such bans. That same year, Northam signed a bill tasking the Virginia Department of Corrections with developing accommodations for people with developmental disabilities. Two bills expanding credit programs for Virginia inmates were signed by Northam in 2020. The first of these allows Virginia inmates to pay fines and court costs with community service credits earned during incarceration. Virginia law had previously allowed these credits to be earned only before or after incarceration. Northam signed the bill in March, saying that it would further prisoner
rehabilitation and
reintegration into society. The second of these bills increases the amount of
sentence credits that inmates can earn toward early release. When Virginia abolished parole in 1995, it did so as part of a larger "
truth in sentencing" initiative that also capped at fifteen percent the amount of time inmates could earn off their sentences through
good behavior. The bill signed by Northam raises that cap, although only for certain inmates. Those who qualify can have their sentences reduced by up to a third. During that same special session, Northam signed a bill allowing defendants convicted by juries in Virginia of non-capital offenses to have their sentences determined by judges. Prior to this bill, juries in Virginia were responsible for determining the sentences of anyone they convicted, and judges rarely exercised their ability to revise jury sentences. The bill signed by Northam gives anyone convicted by a jury in Virginia of a non-capital offense the option to choose between having their sentence determined by a jury or by a judge. At the time of this reform, Virginia had been the only state in the country, aside from Kentucky, where juries were required to sentence anyone they convicted. On March 24, 2021, he signed a law abolishing the death penalty in Virginia. This made Virginia the 23rd state and 1st state in the South to abolish the death penalty.
Writs of actual innocence Another reform enacted by Northam in 2020 eases the petition process for
writs of
actual innocence. Through this process, which Virginia established in 2004, newly available evidence is examined, and if found exonerating by a court, the petitioner's criminal record is expunged. In its original form, this process was available almost exclusively to petitioners who had pleaded not guilty at trial; among those who had pleaded guilty, the process could be used only by a petitioner who had received a death sentence or whose conviction permitted a life sentence. Prior to the reform enacted under Northam, any failed petition that had been based on nonbiological evidence could not be followed by a new petition also based on nonbiological evidence, and any successful petition had to be found by a court to contain "clear and convincing evidence" that the petitioner had been wrongfully convicted. Under legislation signed by Northam, anyone is allowed to petition for a writ of actual innocence, regardless of how the petitioner pleaded at trial, petitioners are allowed to pursue writs of actual innocence any number of times through the presentation of new evidence that is either biological or nonbiological, and for any petition to succeed, it need only to be supported by "a preponderance of the evidence".
Police reform In 2020, Northam signed the Virginia Community Policing Act, which bans the practice of
bias-based profiling by Virginia police officers and requires those officers to collect demographic information during all traffic stops or
investigatory stops that occur in the state. This same law requires all law enforcement agencies in Virginia to collect the number of
excessive force complaints that they receive and to report all of this information into a statewide database. Findings from the database are to be shared annually with the Governor, the Attorney General, and the General Assembly. Later that year, Northam responded to the
murder of George Floyd by convening a special legislative session largely devoted to criminal justice reform. During that session, Northam signed several bills enacting police reform in Virginia. introduced a requirement that officers must intervene when witnessing other officers engaged in excessive force, introduced requirements that officers be in uniform when serving search warrants and that most search warrants served at night receive authorization from a judge or magistrate, banned officers from making traffic stops for various minor infractions or from conducting searches solely on the basis of smelling marijuana, limited the forms of military equipment attainable by police departments, banned officers from having sexual relations with anyone in their custody, granted the state Attorney General the power to conduct investigations of local police departments, granted localities the right to establish
civilian review boards with subpoena and disciplinary powers, and created what is known as the MARCUS Alert system, which provides for mental health professionals to accompany police officers who are responding to mental health crises. a law prohibiting premarital sex; and a law prohibiting the public use of profanity. Although none of these laws were enforced with regularity by 2020, each of them continued to be enforced to some extent either until or nearly until they were repealed. In the same year that Northam repealed these laws, he also
repealed Virginia's unconstitutional Jim Crow laws, which by that time, had already been long unenforced. Virginia's law regulating "habitual drunkards", first introduced in the 1870s, was enforced until 2019, when it was ruled unconstitutional by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to that ruling, Virginia had been the only state aside from Utah suspending the drinking rights of people designated "habitual drunkards". Virginia law still allows courts to suspend the drinking rights of individuals convicted of drunk driving. The "habitual drunkard" designation had often been used to jail homeless people in Virginia. At that time, CNN reported that the law "had not been enforced criminally against a consenting adult since the middle of the 19th century", In 2020,
Mark Levine, who introduced the bill to repeal the law, explained that 21st-century fornication charges generally resulted from plea deals or from instances in which the defendants were already charged with other crimes. CNN dates the law even earlier, to the late eighteenth century. The same classification and penalty had applied to Virginia's ban on fornication.
Economy Northam supports increasing Virginia's
minimum wage, which at $7.25 an hour, has not surpassed the federally mandated level set in 2009. While serving as lieutenant governor in 2014, Northam broke a tie in the Virginia state Senate, passing a bill that would have increased the state's minimum wage by increments. Under the bill, the state's minimum wage would have settled at $9.25 an hour, after two years. The measure was never enacted due to failing in the Virginia House of Delegates. During Northam's first year as governor, he vetoed a bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that would have banned localized minimum wages for government contractors. During his 2017 campaign for governor, Northam was endorsed by the
Laborers' International Union of North America; the union praised Northam for his opposition to a "
right-to-work" amendment to the Virginia state constitution. Northam criticized the partial repeal of the car tax under former Governor
Jim Gilmore because of its impact on both
K-12 and
higher education, saying Virginia still has not recovered. Northam "has called for phasing out the grocery tax on low-income people and ending business taxes in struggling rural areas." He has called for a bipartisan reform commission to make recommendations on state tax policy.
G3 initiative for state-funded tertiary education While campaigning for governor, Northam proposed a plan for Virginia to offer free
community college and
workforce training to students in high-demand fields who commit to a period of public service. For students participating in G3, the state of Virginia would cover educational expenses that remain after other forms of financial aid have been used; as such, G3 has been described as a "
last-dollar" program. According to
Inside Higher Ed and
The Free Lance-Star, G3 is one of the few free tuition programs in the United States available to students of all ages. Returning students, part-time students, and
dual enrollment students are all allowed to participate in the program. Under G3, the cost of tuition, fees, and books would all be covered, and students receiving
Pell Grants would qualify for additional aid. Northam has emphasized the negative effects of climate-change-induced
sea level rise on Virginia's
Tidewater region. Northam has offered conditional support for the proposed
Atlantic Coast Pipeline, provided that the pipeline's construction is deemed to be environmentally safe. He has avoided taking a firm stance on other pipelines such as the
Mountain Valley Pipeline. He opposes both
offshore drilling and
fracking. In September 2019, Northam signed an executive order establishing a goal for the commonwealth to produce at least 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources in 10 years, a 23 percent improvement on the amount produced at the time he signed the order. In addition to this, Northam set the goal for the state of Virginia to produce 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050.
Family leave and child care When Northam was inaugurated as governor, the
family leave policy for
executive branch employees in the state of Virginia applied exclusively to employees who had given birth and offered only partial pay. In June 2018, Northam signed an executive order extending the policy to apply to both mothers and fathers, including not only biological parents but also adoptive and foster parents. Under the new policy, employees receive eight weeks off at full pay. Earlier in the year, then-
Speaker of the House of Delegates Republican
Kirk Cox had established a similar policy offering
legislative branch employees twelve weeks of paid leave. With regards to private sector employees, Northam has said that he wants to implement tax credits for small businesses that offer paid family leave. In 2018, Northam formed a commission to study the possibility of offering
child care to state employees in Richmond. Northam's wife, Pam, serves on the panel. He then made gun control a priority during his administration. In the 2019 legislative session, Northam introduced gun control measures that failed in the Republican-controlled General Assembly. After a
mass shooting in Virginia Beach that killed 12 people, Northam convened a
special legislative session to reconsider gun control legislation, but the General Assembly adjourned after 90 minutes without considering any bills. Gun-control measures were then central to the Democratic platform during
Virginia's 2019 legislative midterm elections. Democrats won control of both chambers in the state legislature during those elections, and in April 2020, Northam signed a package of five gun control measures into law. the other bill, which allows for municipal regulations of firearms in public buildings, parks, recreation centers, and during public events, was amended to create an exemption for institutions of higher learning. The package of gun control legislation supported by Northam in 2020 included an eighth bill that did not pass: it would have banned
assault weapons,
high-capacity magazines,
trigger activators, and
silencers. The ban on assault weapons would not have applied to firearms already owned in Virginia. Virginia was the nineteenth state to pass a red flag law.
Healthcare Northam supports the
Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), although he has argued that it is in need of improvement. After Republican attempts to repeal the law, Northam called for members of Congress to "put a stop to the uncertainty and work on stabilizing and building on the Affordable Care Act's progress." Northam opposes a
single-payer healthcare system in Virginia, preferring that such a plan be run by the federal government, but supports the creation of a state-run
public health insurance option. As governor, Northam has proposed a state budget that would direct $22 million towards closing the racial disparity in Virginia's
maternal mortality rate. The plan developed by Northam would aim to eliminate the disparity by 2025. It would also aim to reduce infant mortality in Virginia. Northam's proposed funding would allow women who qualify for Medicaid solely because of pregnancy to remain covered for a full year after childbirth – Virginia's current policy allows such coverage to last for sixty days after childbirth – and would allow Medicaid to cover home visitation services for new mothers. Other initiatives that would be covered by the funding include expanding access to contraceptives for poor women in Virginia and expanding access to addiction treatment for mothers in the state. This fulfilled one of his central campaign promises. Northam's predecessor,
Terry McAuliffe, had tried to implement Medicaid expansion throughout his term, but was blocked by Republicans, who controlled the state legislature at the time and opposed the expansion. Following the 2017 election, which brought significant gains for Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates, Republicans still held a narrow legislative majority, but opposition to Medicaid expansion had diminished among Republicans, and several crossed over in support of the bill. Virginia became the 33rd state to expand Medicaid Enrollment in the expanded program began on November 1, 2018. By the beginning of 2019, more than 200,000 Virginians had enrolled in Medicaid as part of the expansion. As part of a compromise with Republican legislators, Northam agreed to a Medicaid expansion plan that would include a work requirement for most able-bodied, childless adults. The work requirement has not taken effect, as it cannot be implemented without a waiver from the federal government. Northam's administration initially sought such a waiver, but following Virginia's 2019 midterm elections, in which Democrats took control of the state legislature, Northam paused Virginia's request for the waiver, which at the time was still pending.
Immigration In his 2007 campaign for state Senate, Northam "advocated for Virginia being 'even more stringent than we are now in fighting illegal immigration,' and said the state should act as 'strong partners' with federal law enforcement." Northam said Trump's decision "lacks compassion, lacks moral sense, and lacks economic sense." In February 2017, while serving as lieutenant governor, Northam cast a tie-breaking vote in the state Senate against a bill to ban
sanctuary cities in Virginia. Northam said he was "proud to break a tie when Republicans tried to scapegoat immigrants for political gain" and that he was "glad to put a stop to" the bill. In November 2017, Northam clarified that while he would veto any bill pre-emptively banning sanctuary cities in Virginia, he would support a ban, if sanctuary cities began appearing in the state. He vetoed the same legislation again the following year. In November 2019, after President Donald Trump issued an executive order allowing states and localities to abstain from refugee resettlement programs, Northam affirmed Virginia's commitment to accepting refugees, writing to Trump's
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "Virginia's lights are on and our doors are open, and we welcome new Virginians to make their homes here...The United States has long presented itself as a haven, a place of stability and economic prosperity. We promote the ideals upon which this country was founded, of liberty and freedom. But to uphold those ideals abroad, we must allow access to them here at home. We must practice what we preach."
LGBTQ rights Northam has supported
LGBT rights throughout his political career. While running for lieutenant governor in 2013, he criticized his Republican opponent, E. W. Jackson, for making what were widely considered to be divisive statements about LGBT individuals. During a debate with Jackson, who is a minister, Northam said, "What I do in church translates to what I do in everyday life. Whether it's said in my church or whether it's said in my medical clinic or whether it's said before the Senate, it's on me and it's what I believe in." That summer, when the
United States Defense Department began offering marriage benefits to military personnel in same-sex relationships, Northam and Jackson disagreed with each other on the issue. Jackson said that because gay marriage was illegal in Virginia at the time, the state should withhold benefits from gay couples serving in
its National Guard, while Northam supported the federal policy. Northam said that equalizing benefits for gay couples in the United States military is about "being fair with those who have served our country." During the 2013 campaign, Northam said that opposition to LGBT rights would create an unwelcoming business environment in Virginia. In 2015, he used his tie-breaking abilities as lieutenant governor to defeat a bill in the state Senate that would have forced Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to defend the state's gay marriage ban; Herring had argued that the ban was unconstitutional. In 2017, while running for governor, Northam spoke against the
Physical Privacy Act, a bill proposed that year in Virginia, which if passed, would have required people in government facilities to use restrooms corresponding to the gender specified on their original birth certificates. Northam called the Physical Privacy Act a "job-killing, prejudicial bill". Later that same year, before Northam was elected governor, the Physical Privacy Act was defeated in the state legislature. Northam condemned the decision by President Donald Trump to ban transgender service members from the United States military. Shortly after Trump announced this policy, Northam tweeted, "Anyone who wants to serve our country in the military should be welcomed. They're patriots and should be treated as such." Northam's first official action as governor was to sign an executive order banning the executive branch of the state government from discriminating against LGBTQ employees. At the time of Northam's inauguration, the state of Virginia did not have any legislation protecting LGBTQ individuals from employment discrimination. Protections on the bases of
sexual orientation and
gender identity that had been established through an executive order issued by Northam's gubernatorial predecessor, Terry McAuliffe, were maintained by Northam's own executive order, which went further, introducing, for the first time in Virginia, protection on the basis of
gender expression. While serving as lieutenant governor, Northam broke a tie in the state Senate, supporting a bill that would have codified into state law the protections included in McAuliffe's aforementioned executive order. This bill was defeated in the House of Delegates. Legislation that would have codified Northam's own executive order into state law passed with bipartisan support in the state Senate during 2018 and 2019, but was denied a vote both years by Republican leadership in the House of Delegates. Northam signed the Virginia Values Act into law on April 11, 2020. The bill, which bans discrimination throughout Virginia on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity in both public sector and private sector employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit transactions, is the first legislation in any southern state to extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ individuals. In 2020, Northam signed legislation expanding gender identity-related rights and protections in Virginia. Northam approved bills barring health insurance companies in the state from discriminating on the basis of gender identity; establishing a statewide standard for the treatment of transgender students in Virginia schools; introducing a
non-binary gender option on Virginia driver's licenses and IDs; and removing gender reassignment surgery as a prerequisite in Virginia for those seeking to change the sex listed on their birth certificates. In March 2020, Northam signed a bipartisan bill that made Virginia the twentieth state and first southern state to ban
conversion therapy for minors. Upon signing the bill, Northam issued a statement saying, "This issue is personal for me, as a pediatric neurologist who has cared for thousands of children. Conversion therapy is not only based in discriminatory junk-science, it is dangerous and causes lasting harm to our youth. No one should be made to feel wrong for who they are - especially not a child." Days later, Northam signed a bill classifying crimes targeting a victim on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity as
hate crimes. That same year, Northam signed bills repealing the state legal code of Virginia's unenforceable ban on same-sex marriage; adopting gender-neutral language for spouses throughout state law; and allowing municipalities in Virginia to pass their own laws banning discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Marijuana In May 2020, when Democrats had fresh control of Virginia's state legislature, Northam signed a law decriminalizing marijuana for adult use. Democrats had attempted to pass legislation legalizing it in years past, but had failed every time. It was decriminalized in July 2020, but by then, the state's Democratic Party and Northam had explained that it was not enough–that racial disparities would continue to deepen with just a $25 fine. Following this revelation, he voiced his intent to introduce a bill to legalize it fully. It initially passed with an effective date of July 2024, which Northam and the Virginia ACLU quickly said was not enough. He sent the bill back to the General Assembly, asking for amendments to move the date up to July 2021. The bill was amended and signed by Northam in April 2021, including a provision requested by him making underage possession a civil fine with a substance abuse class. Dispensaries will open on the original date in 2024, while up to four plants can be grown inside the home in 2021.
Donald Trump In a political ad run during the 2017 Virginia Democratic primary, Northam said, "I've been listening carefully to Donald Trump, and I think he's a narcissistic maniac." As the general election drew near Northam said, "[I]f Donald Trump is helping Virginia, I'll work with him." Northam explained the "softer tone": "I think people already know [their opinions of Trump] and they are judging for themselves. What we are talking about as we move forward are the policies that are coming out of Washington that are so detrimental to Virginia". In January 2019, Northam introduced legislation including bills to end Virginia's photo ID law and a bill to allow absentee "no-excuse" voting to replace the current law which contains limits. He is also proposing new campaign finance limits that would block direct donations from corporations, cap donations at $10,000, and prohibit the personal use of campaign funds by lawmakers. In October 2019, Northam announced that he had
restored the voting rights and other civil rights of more than 22,000 felons who had completed their sentences. In March 2021, he approved the
Voting Rights Act of Virginia. ==Personal life==