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New gun laws go into effect in Virginia
An array of new laws are going into effect in Virginia today - including new restrictions on firearms.
WASHINGTON - The District is breaking new ground today.
As of July 1, D.C. minimum wage workers will earn $15 an hour – a measure that hasn’t been replicated in any state to this point.
In addition, the District is guaranteeing paid family leave for anyone with a new child, or who needs to take care of a sick family member.
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In addition, tipped workers’ base pay has gone up to $5 an hour.
While District officials have shied away from calling the reopening process in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic a “celebration,” they are calling these measure a cause to celebrate.
The DMV region as a whole is ushering a slew of new laws.
RELATED: Pot decriminalization, gun restrictions go into effect tomorrow in Virginia
In Virginia, the state’s new Democratic majority General Assembly voted to approve a slew of new measures that are changing the face of the Commonwealth.
Marijuana has been decriminalized, local governments have the ability to take down Confederate monuments, and Virginians will pay more in taxes for gasoline and cigarettes.
In addition, lawmakers have passed the South’s strictest gun laws, broadest LGBTQ protections, highest minimum wage and some of its loosest abortion restrictions.
READ MORE: Montgomery County approves $15 minimum wage
In Maryland, the first phase of Montgomery County’s move to a $15 minimum wage goes into effect today.
The new laws in the DMV go into effect against the backdrop of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic – which has killed thousands – as well as the upheaval caused by calls for social justice in the wake of George Floyd’s death.