Today on the @VASenate floor, @BillDeSteph used the personal responsibility myth to argue against the legalization & decriminalization of marijuana. As someone who grew up in poverty, it pains me to see the personal responsibility narrative perpetuated. (1/9) https://twitter.com/vaplan2018/status/1361748035282362368

Sen. DeSteph went on to say that he educated his way out of poverty and that education and hard work are the only ways out of poverty. This completely oversimplifies the nuance, inequities, and systemic injustices that exist. (2/9)

His argument dismisses the many folks who work long hrs, multiple jobs, have an education & still live at/below the poverty line. This includes many of my friends & family. Their economic struggles & barriers don't simply exist because they haven't “educated their way out” (3/9)

Addressing poverty must be holistic & data-driven not solely based on personal anecdotes. The lack of access to quality education, housing, healthcare, other basic human rights, credit, generational wealth, etc, are largely ignored by the personal responsibility narrative. (4/9)

Regarding Sen. DeSteph's argument against "preference" in marijuana licensing for impacted communities, he is simply wrong that this diminishes others’ rights. Providing reparative justice to harmed communities helps us all. (5/9)

We regularly provide preferences (seniors, veterans) and reparative support (those impacted by flooding & natural disasters, victims of crimes) to various communities. Why is it a problem for us to provide such support to Black & Brown communities who have been harmed? (6/9)

Sen. DeSteph suggested the reason that these communities were over-policed was because of high drug activity. But study after study have demonstrated that similarly situated white & wealthier communities with high drug use & selling did not see such policing levels (7/9)

HB2312 is a necessary step to right these past wrongs, where Black & Brown and lower-income communities were over-policed & prosecuted while white and wealthier communities with the same level of drug activity saw little of this aggressive policing and prosecution. (8/9)

I’m not discouraging hard work or pursuing an education. But the idea that hard work & education are the only solution for those in poverty is simply not the reality. Well-documented systemic barriers exist. And we must work harder to finally remove them. (9/9)