Senator Boysko is doing everything she can to keep our communities safe. She believes in common sense gun reform and has fought alongside a coalition of gun violence prevention advocates to pass legislation that will prevent gun deaths.
Commonsense Gun Legislation
Senator Boysko shares the concerns of the many constituents who write to her, afraid for their families and angry that gun violence continues to take so many lives. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children under 18. We have made progress, but we will continue to work until our communities are safe.
The 2020 Legislative Session saw historic progress as we enacted gun sense legislation. After years of her Virginia legislative colleagues killing bills that would have saved lives, including the bill she carried to incentivize background checks, we saw what it means to flip the General Assembly. We passed legislation allowing for the removal of guns from a person who poses a risk to himself or others, background checks, a reporting requirement for lost or stolen firearms, control of firearms by localities, limits on handgun purchases, and restrictions on gun possession by persons subject to a protective order.
The Senate passed Senator Boysko’s 2023 Session Safe Gun Storage bill that would have required all guns to be locked up in homes with a minor or another person who is prohibited from having a firearm. This commonsense and life-saving bill was killed by a House subcommittee on a party-line vote.
Hazing Prevention
With the support of the family of a VCU student who died in a fraternity hazing incident, Senator Boysko passed legislation requiring that all prospective new members and existing members of organizations at higher education institutions provide detailed hazing prevention training. She is working on strengthening training at middle and high schools. Her bill to strengthen the criminal code treatment of hazing failed when the legislators did not resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
Drug Overdose Prevention
Senator Boysko has worked for many years to reduce addiction and overdose deaths. She is a member of the Substance Abuse Services Council. While still in the House, Senator Boysko worked to allow the distribution of NARCAN to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. While controversial at the time, now NARCAN training and distribution are readily available. Senator Boysko also passed legislation encouraging people to seek emergency response assistance for overdoses by ensuring they will not be arrested or prosecuted for purchasing, possessing, or consuming a controlled substance. She supports the harm reduction community and believes that criminalizing addiction is not the solution.
Reducing Recidivism
In 2020, Senator Boysko passed legislation to provide incarcerated individuals with the opportunity to earn sentence credits by participating in counseling, jobs, education, and good behavior records. Other states, including conservative states, have enacted this legislation with the understanding that preparing people in prison to live productive lives when they are released makes the community safer.