A Republican, he served as a member of the Virginia State Senate, representing the 13th District, which encompasses parts of both Loudoun and Prince William Counties, from 2012 to 2020.
[3] Black's first job was working at the Miami Serpentarium, importing cobras, vipers and other venomous snakes, and preparing them for transport to zoos throughout the world.
[2] After completing his service in the Vietnam War, Black returned to school, earning a BSBA in Accounting in 1973 and a JD in 1976, both from the University of Florida.
[3] He graduated from Parris Island as a PFC and entered the Marine Aviation Cadet Program at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
[3] From 11 February to 17 June 1967, he served as Forward Air Controller (FAC) for the 1st Marine Regiment, making 70 combat patrols.
Lt. Black volunteered to join Fox Company, 1st Marines, which held the ridgeline at Nui Loc Son—an extremely dangerous and remote outpost in the Que Son Valley.
In February 2001, he co-sponsored a bill to establish a 24-hour "informed consent" waiting period for women seeking an abortion.
"[21] In July 2003, Black proposed legislation that would prevent unmarried and gay couples from applying for low-interest home mortgages, saying that the state was "spending $90 million to subsidize sodomy and adultery.
He further claimed that attempts to "encourage homosexual activity, to portray it in a cute or favorable light" could lead to children contracting HIV.
"[27] During his time in the Virginia House of Delegates, Black was also involved with advocating for clemency on behalf of Ollin Crawford.
We do know that two women with very similar cases received vastly different treatment.”[28] Black advocated on Crawford's behalf for 10 years, starting in 1997.
He requested clemency for Crawford from three different Virginia Governors, including George Allen (American politician) and Mark Warner.
[33] In 2014, Black briefly ran for Virginia's 10th congressional district in the 2014 elections to succeed retiring Republican incumbent Frank Wolf.
[34] He withdrew on January 23, two days after declaring his candidacy, saying: "after meeting with Republican Caucus leaders in Richmond, it is imperative that I remain in the Senate where I am needed to maintain our 20/20 split.
In January 2019, Black announced he would not seek reelection for his State Senate seat in the 2019 Virginia legislative elections and instead retire at the end of his term.
[36] In April 2014, Black sent an official letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,[37] thanking "the Syrian Arab Army for its heroic rescue of Christians in the Qalamoun Mountain Range",[37] praising Assad for "treating with respect all Christians and the small community of Jews in Damascus," and stating it was obvious that the rebel side of the war was largely being fought by "vicious war criminals linked to Al Qaeda" [37][38] Democratic State Senator A. Donald McEachin called the letter "bizarre,"[39] while Republican State Senator Bill Stanley later joked "What's the matter, Dick?
[42] Explaining his trip in a series of Twitter exchanges with The Washington Post, Black wrote that the United States was "allied with two of the most vile nations on earth, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which are intent on imposing a [Wahhabi] fundamentalist government on the Syrian people.
[48] He has made the claim that "The United States and NATO we do not care how many Ukrainian die, not civilians, not women, not children, not soldiers" comparing it to a football game.
[51] Black introduced a budget amendment to the General Assembly to prohibit Medicaid expansion without the legislature's approval.
[52][53] After a full day of heated back-door debates, Black prevailed and the Senate approved a budget without Medicaid expansion, which was Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe's signature issue.
[54] Black has made appearances on Russian, Israeli and Chinese state-run and Hezbollah-affiliated media critiquing US foreign policy.
After his minute of allotted time concluded and his microphone was disabled, he continued speaking while chaos erupted from the crowd.