As an alum of Virginia Tech and a current resident of Virginia Beach, Senator Aaron Rouse is no stranger to the issue of gun violence. In 2007, a gunman killed 32 students and faculty members at his alma mater, and in 2019, his community was devastated by a mass shooting that claimed the lives of 12 innocent people. As a firm believer in the necessity of violence intervention, Senator Rouse has spent his professional life working to be a role model for others by consistently emphasizing the need to bring people together, building relationships, and equipping young people with the skills to approach conflict with level heads—and not firearms. Prior to winning a spot in the legislature in a special election in 2023, Senator Rouse proudly partnered with the Department of Justice and Virginia Beach Police Department to deepen levels of community trust and provide residents with new and improved safe spaces in their neighborhoods. Now he’s fighting to build on the progress he’s made at the local level as a member of the Virginia Senate, where he has been a champion of efforts to reduce crime and helped Democrats to push back against Republican attempts to roll back the gun safety laws that have kept so many Virginians safe in recent years. This fall, we must reelect Senator Aaron Rouse to another term. In doing so we can protect our gun safety majority in the senate and take significant steps forward in the fight to keep our communities safe next term.

We are proud to endorse Aaron Rouse for the Virginia Senate.