Press to Return to the Senate Floor

In a deal struck today the Virginia press will once again be allowed on the floor of the Virginia Senate.  GOP Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment had ousted the press from the floor on the first day of the session two weeks ago.  Republicans backed the new rule, the Democrats opposed it. Since then the press has had to sit in the crowded balcony of the Senate, competing for seats with the Capitol’s tourists.  Norment called the deal with the press, “a good mutual resolution.”

State Senator and candidate for Congress, Tom Garrett, was instrumental in brokering this deal. Today Senator Garrett issued this statement,

“Today, all those who support transparency in government will celebrate a victory for the First Amendment to our Constitution. As a result of my willingness to stand and fight for principles of Constitutional governance, press freedom, and legislative transparency, Republican leadership has allowed the sunshine of a free and open press back into Virginia’s Senate.”

“I’m proud to have stood on principle in leading this fight, even if it makes me unpopular with the Republican Establishment. This issue is not about right and left – it’s about right and wrong. Citizens from all sides of the political spectrum can agree that limiting the First Amendment and impeding the flow of information to a free press is wrong.”

“We the People deserve to know what is happening in the halls of power. I commend Senator Norment for again allowing fresh air into to the smoke-filled back rooms of government. It is imperative to keep all citizens apprised of the proceedings of the government which works for them.”