Virginia Democrat breaks ranks, demands immediate end to forced masking of schoolchildren

Virginia state Sen. Chap Petersen, a Democrat who represents Fairfax County, took a bold stand against the forced masking of schoolchildren on Monday, breaking with his Democratic colleagues and siding with Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).

On Youngkin's first official day in office, he signed a series of executive orders, one of which declared that school districts should no longer be the sole authority on whether children wear masks in schools. Importantly, Youngkin's order did not prohibit masks in schools; the directive simply empowered parents — not school board officials — to...