INTERVIEW — VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR AMANDA CHASE —  is currently a member of the Virginia Senate for the 11th District, representing Amelia County, the city of Colonial Heights, and part of Chesterfield County.

• Amanda Chase, Va. state lawmaker, open carries on Senate floor: ‘It empowers women.’ A freshman legislator has started openly carrying her .38 revolver on the floor of the Virginia state Senate. State Sen. Amanda Chase (R) told The Washington Post that she has begun wearing her revolver visibly strapped to her hip after a colleague was confronted by a group of protesters. The Virginia state Capitol, in Richmond, has lax gun rules and gun-toting visitors are allowed in if they have a concealed-carry permit, the Post reported. Chase, who owns a small financial services business, told the newspaper that she usually carries her gun concealed because she doesn’t want to “raise alarm for other people.”