Taxes In January 2009, Deeds proposed up to a $10,000
tax credit for businesses that made "job-creating investments" and supported exemption of the sales tax on the purchase of solar or wind energy systems for homeowners. He has stated that he will not make a no-tax-increase pledge and wrote in
The Washington Post that he would support a new gas tax to fund transportation. In 2008, Deeds voted for a bill in the State Senate which would raise the Virginia gas tax $0.06 per gallon over the next 6 years.
Consumer advocacy Deeds is in favor of tougher sanctions on lenders that deal
subprime mortgages. Additionally, he appears to be in favor of health care cost transparency, insurance reforms, and protections for consumers in the health system.
Death penalty Deeds supports removing the "trigger-man" clause, which restricts the
death penalty to those who physically committed the action, in
Virginia capital punishment law. In 2005, Deeds said that he disagreed with the
Supreme Court ruling in
Roper v. Simmons, which made it unconstitutional to execute juveniles. He argued that it was the jury's duty to determine when and where the death penalty should come into play. In 2021, Deeds voted to abolish the death penalty in Virginia.
LGBTQ In 2006, Deeds was part of the unanimous Democratic coalition that voted to oppose an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution that would ban
same-sex marriage. He voted against it because he believed the Amendment went too far in its definition of marriage. In July 2009, Deeds stated he believed "Marriage is between a man and a woman" and declined to say gay marriage is a civil right. Deeds has supported workplace protections and LGBTQ rights in the General Assembly and criticized attempts to roll back these protections such as in September 2025, when he went after Winsome Earle-Sears.
Gun control Deeds was endorsed by the
NRA during his 2005 Attorney General run over Republican Bob McDonnell. Deeds supports a state ban on civilian ownership of
assault weapons and signed a pledge to repeal the law restricting citizens from buying more than one handgun a month. The law was repealed by his opponent, Bob McDonnell, in February 2012. He voted against the
Castle Doctrine (Senate Bill 876) multiple times and previously proposed a measure that would eliminate private sales at
gun shows. The bill's proponents called it a measure to prevent another disaster like the
Virginia Tech massacre even though the shooter purchased his firearms from licensed gun dealers and not at a gun show. This measure ultimately failed. In February 2011, Deeds was one of eight senators on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee who "passed by indefinitely" House Bill 1573, defeating the bill by an 8 to 4 margin. In February 2020, Deeds broke party ranks to shelve House Bill 961 which would have prohibited the sale and transport of assault firearms, certain firearm magazines, silencers, and trigger activators. This effectively blocked the legislation championed by Gov. Northam. More recently he has come out as pro-gun-reform/control, passing an assault weapons ban and other things like background checks. In 2024, he voted for healthcare for children under age 19 regardless of immigration status largely on the grounds that early and preventative care saves money by cutting down on later emergency room visits.
2010 redistricting Deeds introduced SB926 to create a seven-member non-partisan committee to oversee the 2010–2011 redistricting plan. In 2009, the bill passed the
State Senate, 39–0, but was killed by the
House of Delegates' Committee on Privileges and Elections. In 2010, the bill once again passed the Senate with unanimous vote of 40–0 before once again being killed in committee by the House of Delegates. Deeds said that, if elected Governor of Virginia, he would use his veto power and amendment powers to try to force the House of Delegates into accepting a version of SB926.
Education Deeds' 2009 gubernatorial campaign issued a plan called "Better Schools. Better Jobs" to detail Deeds' plans regarding education. The plan called for up to $15,000 in student loans for 4-year college students, and for creating partnerships with
community colleges and traditional universities.
Transportation Deeds was criticized by the McDonnell campaign for lacking a coherent transportation plan. During the second debate between the candidates, McDonnell held up a blank sheet of paper as a representation of the Deeds plan. Deeds later wrote a column in
The Washington Post laying out his plan, which included the possibility of a new gas tax or other tax. ==References==