Virginia, Maryland and D.C. Impose New Burdens on Law Enforcement, Businesses, and Personal Freedoms
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
On July 1, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia enacted a slew of restrictive laws, undermining police authority, burdening businesses, expanding government overreach in schools, and raising costs for employers through a minimum wage hike.
A Virginia judge, bowing to federal pressure, issued a temporary injunction halting a law that would have restored order by barring on-duty police officers from hiding behind face coverings. The Department of Justice intervened, claiming the measure infringed the Supremacy Clause, while the state’s attorney general’s office, to its credit, strongly disagreed and reaffirmed its support for law enforcement and transparent policing. Unfortunately, the same injunction also blocked enforcement of a new assault-weapon ban, which threatens the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens by targeting the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines. Virginia also became the first state to let reckless drivers who exceed 100 mph avoid jail or license suspension by installing 'intelligent speed assistance' devices, signaling a soft-on-crime approach. Additional statutes further expand government interference: protections for immigrant workers filing wage-theft complaints, automatic sealing of low-level criminal records, codified access to contraception, and new mandates forcing landlords to accept checks or money orders without reasonable processing fees. In Maryland, schools are now forced to adopt 'bell-to-bell' bans on personal devices by the 2027-2028 school year, stripping students and parents of choice and flexibility, though exemptions exist for school-issued equipment and health needs. Colleges and universities must now provide free tampons and sanitary pads in health centers by August 1, 2028, adding yet another unfunded mandate. Baltimore County businesses can apply for permits to sell sealed cocktails for carry-out if food is purchased, but more red tape is involved. New laws also make it illegal to sell or transport racehorses for commercial slaughter and require lottery operators to withhold prize payments from winners with outstanding debts or child support, further entangling private enterprise in state bureaucracy. The District of Columbia raised its minimum wage yet again, increasing the standard rate to $18.40 per hour and the tipped-worker base wage to $10.30 per hour, forcing employers to cover any shortfall and placing additional burdens on small businesses.
