Leaders in the Virginia House of Delegates pledged Thursday to back Ed Gillespie’s call for $1.5 million in funding for the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force. Gillespie announced his plan at a press conference in Northern Virginia.
“The House of Delegates will fully support funding for the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force,” said Speaker-designee Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights). “As we have seen in recent months, gangs like MS-13 are a very real and dangerous threat to families. Ed Gillespie and the Republican-led General Assembly will make Virginia stronger and safer.”
“As a former prosecutor, I was not the least bit shocked to read in the Washington Post this week that the ratio between MS-13 gang members and Fairfax County Police is 1:1,” said Majority Leader-designee Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah). “The depraved MS-13 gang has even affected my bucolic rural district when they brutally murdered a pregnant teenage girl in the Shenandoah River in 2003. As legislators, we have a responsibility to protect our neighborhoods and communities. We will not sit idly by and watch these lawless thugs terrorize the communities we serve. Governor Ed Gillespie will be an important ally in this fight.”
“The House Appropriations Committee has demonstrated a clear commitment to public safety in recent years, funding pay raises for law enforcement and providing localities with the resources they need to fight crime and keep our communities safe,” said Chairman S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk). “We will partner with Ed Gillespie, Jill Vogel, and John Adams to increase funding for the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force to combat the growing threat of gang violence across the region.”
“The second fastest growing crime in the nation is human trafficking and Northern Virginia is not immune to those who are preying on our children for financial gain,” said Caucus Chairman Tim Hugo (R-Fairfax). “Gangs like MS-13 prey on our most vulnerable, and experts believe human trafficking may soon become their most lucrative business. We must do more to combat this abhorrent crime, and Ed’s pledge to Northern Virginia and the Regional Gang Task Force represents his commitment to keeping all Virginians safe.”