Interview with Delegate Eric Zehr

All right, were welcome in. Our guest for today a Delegate Eric Zayer. He represents the Camill Kenny. Your district is pretty big, isn't it. It's most of Campbell, southern Bedford, a little bit of Pensylvania County. Yeah, yeah, a lot. It takes me an hour and a half to get from one end. To the other. Oh, well, thank you for coming back. We figured with all the commotions that's going on in Richmond, it's good to get the perspective of the person that's in the middle of all that chaos. Well, it's good to be back here. And yeah, that has been a little bit of it felt like chaos, but maybe organized chaos, you might say, when you've got a different situation. This year. The last two years that I was there, you know the Republicans, I'm a Republican, we were in a very slim minority. We had just one seat short. This year we were thirteen seats down. Wow, made a big difference. There was nothing that Republican was going to get through that the Democrats didn't want to have get through. So it was frustrating at times, but I also learned how to work around it. We got a little bit done. So I think that's probably just to dive in. Sure. I mean, obviously the election did not go our way, I would say that, and so you kind of I think for most people you kind of knew what was coming kind of the way the election went, But I don't know that we expected it to get go this quickly. Actually, I think, yeah, when you know, historically when Republican is in the White House, you're gonna lose seats in the state level. Okay, we didn't expect the blue wave that happened this year at no state level. We you know, we lost seats that we should have held we never expected to lose and sore. But the good news is we are starting to build back already. We had a special election just two weeks ago over in the ninety eighth district that's on the Eastern Shore, and the Republican candidate over there won by a margin unanticipated. He won that district by even more of a percentage than Trump did, So that's good. It indicates the level of angst in the voters about what's going on at the state level, that the voters are seeing what the Democrats are pushing through and they're saying Uh, oh, we need to turn course here. Yeah, I think I'm confused on the biggest confusion for me was how anybody thought that by electing Spanburger you somehow end up with a moderate, a moderate Democrat. I mean, I'm not sure where anybody thought that was actually gone. And you know, even let's just say, let's just say that Spamburger was a moderate, which she is not, but let's just say that she was. There really isn't a choice for Democrats. They have to push through with the legislation that their people put them in there to push through that they presented the last two years when they knew it was safe to present because they knew that Governor Younkin would veto it. Well, this year, they've got the House, they've got the Senate, they've got the governor's mansion. There's nothing to stop, there's no excuse. So they had to push through with things that I think even they were a little bit embarrassed. You know, since California Democrats are blushing it some of what went through in Virginia. This shar that's what it feels like. Well, let's talk about some of them. So the question I have I just had the Senate Bill three twenty two, which basically I think joins other states and being able to eventually get to a popular vote. Okay, is that something that I mean? Do you see all of these bills? I guess yeah, every one of them came through. Now, some of them could have gone through the Senate and I would have not seen them on the House side, but that one had I think it had what we call a cognate over in the House side. So yes, that one came through. I was a definite no on that because I've seen what happens, you know, with the popular vote. Our founders set us up as a republic for a reason, yea, And when you bypass that reason, sometimes reason doesn't prevail and you get people elected that shouldn't be elected. So one of the questions I haven't had about that is we're joining other states, and by joining other states, eventually I think that would allow the national election to basically change over to a popular vote, right, So you have to have so many states join that. So my question is when Republicans gained back control. Is that easily undone? That part probably not, because once you join other states and you form some sort of coalition you've got, you know, laws regulating that coalition, that union. There's gonna be it's gonna be hard to pull out, not impossible because we have to exert Virginia's sovereignty to Okay. All right, Well, I hope it is one of the frustrations. I feel like I sort of like Spamberg what you guys have alluded to. She sort of had ran the Biden campaign of being in the base. Had maybe a couple issues that has come out that they've passed a campaign on, but so much of this stuff there's not a single chance they campaigned on it. And then when they got the chance. It was the Blue rolls over the Red, and it doesn't matter what happens, and we just don't seem to ever govern that way. The red never seems to roll over the blue like they do us. And man, they just took it the opportunity and just went after it. And you were mentioning what they're doing doesn't line up with what they campaigned on, or I think you said it very nicely that I don't think they would have campaigned on. What they're doing is exactly the opposite of what they campaigned on. We all campaigned on kitchen table issues, especially affordability. We August, September, October, November, we're all out there campaigning on we're going to make life more affordable for Virginians. Literally six weeks later, Democrats are coming in with fifty plus new taxes. So in these bills don't just spontaneously stantaneously generate. So while we're campaigning and affordability, they're already planning these tax. I so and come in with a surplus. We had a surplus that's going to be that's gone. And we're looking you know, I say, we as a collective, you know this, as a Democrat driven legislature, are looking at how do we generate more money to pay for all these new programs in these things that they want to put through. But it's not just the taxes up that we see up front. It's what I call the stealth taxes. It's the money that's coming out of our pockets that we don't know about. They're gonna be able to say we didn't we didn't add new tax So some of those taxes will probably get put into the budget, so it'll be you know, snuck in there. We won't see it. But there's other things like collective bargaining. There's paid family leave, there's the rejoining of the regional greenhouse gas initiative. You know, there's all these these things that are going to be taking money out of our pockets in ways that aren't direct taxes. But they still move their ideology forward exactly. The game plan. Let's talk about weapons. That's a big topic for me. So what is the what's the bill that's can you kind of give us brief details of actually what was passed that's going to hinder arability with the second Amendment. So the game plan here is what's called the patchwork. So they did not come at it with we are just going to do away with a second amendment. But they came at it with a little bill here, and a little bill there, a little infringement over here, and then the plan will be to build on those rather than just going directly, which you know, there would be such a backlash if they just directly said we are just going to outright band guns. But you know, some of them, for example, I remember giving a speech on the floor about how one of these bills you can have an eighteen year old, nineteen year old, twenty year old he's often the military is carrying an M four to defend us. But when he comes home, we're not going to let him buy a pistol to defend himself at home, because, apparently, to the Democrats, if you're under twenty one, you're too immature to have a weapon. Wow. Yeah, that was one of another one. They started out. They wanted to make any magazine that holds more than ten rounds they wanted to classify that as an assault weapon or an assault Yeah, an assault weapon. And so of course we gave a lot of grief about that, and the public outcry was what turned him, and they eventually they modified it so now it's at fifteen round You can't buy anything greater than fifteen rounds in Virginia after July one. You can't bring it in, you can't go to your family and take one. So I'm just for my own reasons here. So I mean, I've got a nine millimeter that holds twenty rounds. So you're, oh, you're a you are a brenan Old brand. So I mean, with this bill, I'm supposed to get rid of those. Clips or so, if I'm understanding correctly, if you've got it right, now you can have it, okay, do you dare bret by it after or bring it into the state after July one? And there's a question whether or not you can sell it to your kids or give it to your kids. Yeah, can it be passed on? There was a lot of questions around that one, A lot of questions around law enforcement. You know, historically law enforcement retires, they get to keep their weapon. Well, okay, now is that weapon going to be illegal? Is it illegal for law enforcement to keep that Well? A lot of these end up in court. I think so. So in of all places, d C. I'm not talking, I'm talking Washington, d C. Distrisch of Columbia Circuit. I think it was a circuit court recently ruled that they couldn't ban magazines based on capacity, because the logic was, well, wait a minute, if you can arbitrarily say no more than ten rounds, why can't you arbitrarily say no more than two rounds? And if you can't, if you can say no more than two rounds, well why can't you arbitrarily say well, no rounds? Just you can have one in the chamber. Well, And I judge, I think it was went this far a says, wait a minute. So if you can say we can just have one in the chamber and this is all arbitrarily arbitrary, well we'll go back to muskets because at the time of the Second Amendment they were using muskets, and so we have a musket and yeah, it's not infringing. So yeah, I'm hoping, and I don't know where that's I mean, I'm assuming the NRA organizations like that are the ones that are fighting these things. Yeah, n r DA, NRA, v c d L there on the forefront. They are picking these bills apart, they're helping to formulate arguments. They're there testifying on each one of these bills. And I sit on the Firearm Subcommittee, so I get to see these bills firsthand as they come through and V c d L and NRA there every time fighting for what we believe in and wow, what our founders gave us. So it's a fight, yeah, and it was. It was sad. I remember one committee we sat there for three and a half hours listening to testimony after testimony about why we should ban guns and just frustrating. What bothers me the most because Trent owns a cabin in Highland County, and when you're driving out there, you see Creedds signs right, and you think about, there's no way. I mean, I've met these people. There's no way you're voting for a person that's going to take away your right to own guns. Yet they do it. And I can't figure out why that is not resonating with. But I think part of it is they're smart. It's incrementalism. A little bit here, it's a little bit there, it's a little bit get people used to the next level before you go higher, before you reach for that next takeaway. Definitely a game plan. And speaking of that game plan, and I would before the show, we talked just a little bit here, and I'd like to give you a chance to talk about this. So I think the constitutional amendments that we're going to get to vote for in November or three pretty strong liberal stances on things, which is obviously to encourage the base to come in November so that they can also win the House. And now we have this other vote that we're getting ready to do. Does that mean at the federal level we're going to be down eleven to one or are we still going to be six to five. You know, that's how important the April vote is. But in the constitutional miments that we're going to vote in November, one of them is reproductive rights, and I wanted to give you a chance to talk about that one. Actually, yeah, that sounds really nice at the title there, does it? Yes, reproductive rice. Everybody wants rights another game plan. But I chastise Democrats on the floor for this one. Three years in a row, I have asked for a report. I've asked for a study of what really will this amendment do? Because voters don't know. And voters are going to go into that book poll November. They're going to read the first line. They're going to get the little cheat sheet from the outside for the dem saying hey, you want reproductive rights, Okay, just go vote yes on this one. But people don't realize that this would make Virginia the most radical state in the Union when it comes to abortion. But it doesn't stop there. It would make Virginia more radical than any industrialized nation. Well, one of my fellow delegates did a study of one hundred and forty eight other countries. He could not come up with another country that had radical more radical abortion laws. But the thing that irks me the most about this one is that the language that voters will see is very much like what we see going on on this April twenty one jerrymandering, where it says one thing in the referendum, but in the text of the bill it's very different. So with the abortion amendment, it references doctors and nurses, that doctors and nurses should have immunity, so they botch in abortions, they hurt somebody, whatever, should the doctor and nurse have a immunity. But in the text of the bill it says any individual, literally says any individual. So if you've got somebody who's it could be a midwife, we would hope it at least be a midwife. Maybe it's the plumber, mechanic or uncle. Maybe it's somebody trying to cover their tracks and they hurt a girl. There's immunity, just blanket immunity. There's no reporting requirements, So your daughter could be sent through a clinic and you'll never know unless something goes wrong. And now we start racking up medical bills and they're going to come after you for the payment. You know, it is as I said also on the floor. This is a sex trafficker's dream because you can run these gals through the clinics. Nobody has to know. Wow, drop at the front door, pick them up at the back, and keep going Wow. That's what It's almost evil. I mean. Yeah, and the language that. They use, like we talked about in the voting when that we're getting ready to in April twenty to say that the right to vote or to make fair elections. Okay, you wrote those words that way, but you literally are cutting off half the state from being able to be represented. That's really what the story is, but that's not what gets out there. In fact, they got Obama out there campaigning how fair it is. Now, that's I mean, it's just the strategy that they use is sickening. It just is horrible what you're talking about right there, we'd have forty six percent of Virginia's population would be represented by nine percent of the guys in Congress. That's right. That would make us more disproportionate than any other state in the Union, including California and New York. Wow. Yeah. One other thing I didn't mention sure that abortion amendment is reproductive rights is very open ended. It's not defined, So that is going to cover everything from transgenderism to the guy that doesn't want her to have the baby, but she has the baby. Now is he is she infringing on his reproductive rights? It's just it's absurd, how open ended in vague this thing is. Well, did they pass anything on climate? I'm just wondering what's coming at us with climbing and DEI. Yeah, and you're gonna pay for it. So we got back into Reggie, the regional greenhouse gas initiative that ties us to California bureaucrats telling us what to do for our electric One estimate of hers is going to add about seven dollars to every electric bill. So times that times twelve were you know, it's starting to add up. Oh yeah, that's just the beginning. And it's all about this push for wind and solar. Wind and solar is great, but we can't depend on them. You know, this this cold snap we had this winter, wind was adding zero and solar a little bit during the day until we got that snow. Yeah, solar panels don't produce a whole lot when they're covered with snow. That's right, And so what's absurd? What makes this The most absurd though, is we're importing more electricity than really any other state in our region. So while we're banning production here in Virginia, we're importing electricity from West Virginia and Ohio and other places where they're making it with cold Yeah, of course. So yeah, what's the point, folks, It's backwards. We're just driving the cost up for Virginians and we're not even getting the carbon freedom. Here, especially when you think the West Virginia and Ohio or upgradient from US. So whatever gas house emissions are coming right back over top of this when you think about it. So there's some other things that I had in here, and the constitutional mintments that we'll be voting for. You had mentioned the reproductive rights. There's also voting for felons. Allowing felons to vote is one of them. And then marriage equality. I had not known this, but the state of virgin And has had a long standing ban on same sex marriage, and so that will allow us to vote that says we can lift that ban on same sex marriage. I didn't know we had. I didn't even know that. Yeah, that's gonna be in the constitutional moment. So you can hear those three subjects, and you know the drove of people that are going to go vote in a midterm election. So if we don't win in April, we're gonna be in some real trouble. And on that that marriage amendment, what people aren't talking about is what it's going to do to pastors. So you've got pastors who are morally opposed to same sex marriage. They're going to be forced. They're going to be in a tight spot. There's no exclusion for them. They were I didn't even think about that. Yeah, wow, that's one of the tough ones. And then you know, we all want felt, we all want people to be able to get their life back together and be able to vote. But one of the things there is you got somebody who's killed somebody else that somebody else isn't going to get their vote voting rights back. That's right, that's right. So yeah, well, before you go, is there any good news you can bring? Well, we do have cannabis markets. We can go by by dope and just feel okay for. The whole thing. Is there any positives? Lots of positive news? Okay. So one of the positives is that people are paying attention like they never have before, and we mentioned this before we went on the year, that legacy media is not the only source anymore. Like you guys are getting news out in ways that there's I've been you know, I'm an old guy, and I've learned how to use Facebook and how to put reels out and so, uh, we've seen people engaging like never before. Good we saw here's an example of how that works. So last year, Democrats brought anti homeschooling bills and we were trying to you know, really make life rough up for homeschooling. This year they targeted private schools. Hey, HB three point fifty nine in particular was a big concern. Well, the people that turned out by email, by phone, call, by text message showing up in Richmond, and we were able to get that bill squashed. Oh so protected private. Schooling lord. And again just being able to message and to get the news out to let people know, hey, here's what the situation is. You know, we voted these Democrats in here's what's going on, and people are responding and they're recognizing we need to make a change here pretty quick. I think that's what happened on the vm MY case too. That was big news in January when I started as VMA I losing their governance of themselves to Virginia Union or Virginia State, and without social media and the rallying of the whole troops across state, I don't think we would have squashed that. But oh yeah, yeah, yeah a lot. I got more emails about that one than anything else this year. No, I didn't. Actually, I'm a little frustrated with vm I, and they've just. Let their whole they let the whole woke agenda change everything about the school, and I just I'm getting so frustrated. And sometimes you get what you earn. They're never happy. Every time you give them something, they take more, and they take more and they take more. So you didn't really make them happy when you made all those other decisions. In fact, you alienated us the people that went there, and now you want help to try to have your own governance. I really have a hard time right now with them. So yep, well, thank you again for taking the time out to let us know what's going in Richmond. We know you're busy in the We do appreciate you coming by. It's a pleasure, and I appreciate the opportunity to let folks know what's going on. That's what this game is going to be all about, is letting people know what's happening in Richmond so they can vote knowledgely, knowledgeably. So we definitely know we're voting. No, no on no no, and no I just did yesterday. You can vote early, so the precinct in Bedford, by the way, has changed locations. If you don't know, if you're going to vote early, it's not in front of the BRWA or the Sheriff's office. It's at the Bedford County Nursing Home. You got to go behind there to parks and rec and you vote early behind nursing home. Good good information. Yeah, well, thank you again for being on the show. Thank you, gentlemen, Thank you.