Actually I think that's probably the only "good" thing about this punitive damage cap. By declaring that there exists a cap, you create a constraint for the jury, so they may end up deciding on a smaller punitive damage because of the cap.

Instead, allowing jurors to decide on a larger punitive damage than the cap can have a symbolic meaning. The court is bound by law, they can't avoid it, but the jury isn't, so whatever amount they decide is the amount that they believe reflects the severity of the crime.

> While the court recognized “the jury verdict findings of Defendants’ liability,” and upheld the compensatory damages award, the order said it would reduce the punitive damages to $350,000, “as compelled by the Virginia statutory cap on punitive damages.”
> A Virginia state law limits the total amount awarded for punitive damages to $350,000 per case, but the law does not allow the jury to be advised of the punitive damages cap.

Headline is a bit inflammatory/clickbait-y for leaving out an important detail, though I wish they didn't have this limit so the group would have to pay the full $24 million.

The difference is that LGBTQ+ venues, and venues that are supportive of LGBTQ+ (like Libraries) have been increasingly the target of violence, threats, and shootings, so it makes sense to devote some funding to provide active shooter training.

It's the same reason why schools have those active shooter drills. The system is sick and politics are fucked, so it's not possible to stop every maybe shooters, but you can at least train people in targeted sectors to hopefully reduce the potential number of casualties.