The Cannon
Your blast of infotainment from ForAmerica.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
I’ve Been Hearing This Prayer at Mass for a Month
I live in Virginia. My family lives here. So when Richmond asks voters to change our state constitution, I pay attention.
This November, Virginians will decide three proposed constitutional amendments dealing with abortion, marriage, and voting rights. I’ve spent some time reading them, and I plan to vote no on all three.
Question 1 is the one that really stopped me.
Virginia is being asked to put a constitutional right to abortion into our state constitution. When I got to the language covering the third trimester, my reaction was pretty simple: How far are we really prepared to go?
The amendment would protect an abortion in the third trimester when a physician determines it is necessary to protect the mother’s life, physical health, or mental health, or when the unborn child is not viable.
Mental health is specifically included.
We are talking about the third trimester.
And if you’re Catholic in Virginia, it has been almost impossible to miss how seriously the Church is taking this.
Bishop Michael Burbidge in Arlington and Bishop Barry Knestout in Richmond have been sounding the alarm. They’ve written directly to Catholics across the Commonwealth urging opposition to Question 1. The Virginia Catholic Conference has been distributing information through parishes. And for the past month, Catholics have been praying at Mass for the defeat of the amendment.
I’ve heard those prayers myself.
There is something powerful about sitting in church with your family and hearing an entire congregation pray for the protection of unborn children, knowing that in a few weeks the question is going to be sitting right there on your ballot.
The bishops aren’t being coy about it. They believe Question 1 crosses a moral line. So do I.
I also have serious concerns about what the amendment could mean for parents. It creates a constitutional right for “every individual,” while offering no explicit protection for parental involvement when a minor daughter is considering an abortion.
I’m a father. The idea that Virginia could put something this sweeping into its constitution, particularly when it reaches into the third trimester and potentially into the relationship between parents and their children, bothers me deeply.
Question 2 hits another fundamental institution: marriage.
Virginia’s Constitution currently defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Question 2 would remove that language and replace it with constitutional recognition of marriages between two adults regardless of sex, gender, or race.
I know the fashionable answer on this subject. I also know what I believe.
Marriage between a man and a woman is different. Mothers and fathers are different. Both matter enormously to children, and the institution that brings a mother and father together to build a family is worth defending.
People are free to disagree with me. Plenty do. But disagreement doesn’t require me to surrender a conviction because the culture has changed around it.
Question 3 is different. It deals with voting rights for people convicted of felonies.
Today in Virginia, a person convicted of a felony must have his or her civil rights restored before voting again. Question 3 would make voting rights come back automatically upon release from incarceration.
I believe in redemption. I believe in second chances. I also think restoration ought to mean something.
Someone who has committed a serious crime can earn back rights and responsibilities after serving a sentence. Virginia already has a process for doing that. I don’t see the wisdom in removing the judgment entirely and putting automatic restoration into the constitution.
Three questions. Three permanent changes to Virginia’s governing document.
And I suspect an awful lot of people still have no idea they’re on the ballot. Especially since the news won’t cover any issues beyond the two “G’s,” gas prices and gladiator debate clips.
That’s why For America is getting involved.
We’re going to put these amendments in plain English and get the information in front of Virginians. Videos. Graphics. Research. Digital outreach. Whatever helps someone understand what he is being asked to decide before he gets into the voting booth.
Will you contribute $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, or whatever you can today to support For America’s 2026 Victory Program? Help us reach Virginians with a clear message: Vote NO on Question 1. Vote NO on Question 2. Vote NO on Question 3.
Virginia is personal to me. I’m raising my family here. I go to church here. My kids are growing up here. The decisions Virginians make on November 3 will become part of the constitution they inherit.
That gets my attention.
We have a little time left to make sure it gets everyone else’s.
Please support For America’s 2026 Victory Program today.
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