At least five anti-gun bills – including a ban on common semi-auto firearms – passed by the Virginia state legislature this week are headed to Governor Spanberger’s desk.
The measures, SB 749, SB 727, SB 27, HB 21, and HB 40, all passed the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, largely along party lines. While none are good for the Second Amendment, SB 749, a ban on "assault firearms" and "large capacity" magazines, guarantees the most immediate heartburn to gun owners in the state moving forward.
SB 749
SB 749, as passed, criminalizes the import, sale, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of so-called “assault firearms” and bans magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. The bill outlines an "assault firearm" as a semi-auto centerfire rifle that can accept a detachable magazine and has either a folding or collapsible stock, thumbhole or pistol grip, grenade launcher, or threaded barrel.
Likewise, any semi-auto centerfire pistol with a detachable magazine and a second pistol grip, a shroud over the barrel, or a threaded barrel, would be outlawed.
The measure also goes after semi-auto shotguns with a folding, thumbhole, or pistol grip stock, or if it accepts a detachable magazine.
Guns and mags already owned by Virginians before July 1, 2026, would be grandfathered in, at least until future legislation is passed. State residents are already visiting the gun counter, as data from Virginia's adjusted NICS background checks in Feb. 2026 were 65,501 compared to 42,193 for Feb. 2025 – a jump of 55 percent.
"Virginia Senate Democrats just passed an 'assault weapons' ban while admitting they can’t even explain the mechanical differences between the firearms they’re banning," said state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R. "Lawmaking based on ignorance isn’t leadership – it’s unconstitutional overreach. The Constitution isn’t optional."
A number of gun rights groups are urging Virginia voters to contact the governor's office to urge her to veto the bill, an unlikely ask as Spanberger, a former Moms Demand Action volunteer, previously supported similar legislation while representing the state on Capitol Hill and has vowed to sign such a ban while on the campaign trail. Should that occur, the same 2A groups are vowing legal action against the bill they contend doesn't align with the right to keep and bear arms.
"Make no mistake, this bill will trigger lawsuits resulting in years of expensive litigation for Virginia taxpayers, who will be forced to fund the Commonwealth’s legal defense of obviously infringing legislation," said Gun Owners of America in a statement on Monday.
Calling the prohibition immoral, Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said Monday, "We will not hesitate to sue to defend Virginians against their authoritarian government if Governor Abigail Spanberger signs this anti-gun bill into law."
They could take a cue from a recent decision by the nearby D.C. Court of Appeals in United States and the District of Columbia v. Tyree Benson, which overturned the enclave's arbitrary magazine ban, calling such devices "arms in common and ubiquitous use by law-abiding citizens across this country."
SB 727
In addition to SB 749, Spanberger is set to act on SB 727, which outlaws most common firearms on public property. At the same time, HB 40 mandates serial numbers on homemade guns and penalizes those with unfinished frames and receivers.
SB 27 & HB 21
Two further bills, SB 27 and HB 21, introduce a potentially subjective standard of "responsible conduct" for gun industry members in Virginia. If this standard is thought to be violated, firearm manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in the state could face a Pandora's box of easily implemented lawfare weapons that could sue them out of business. With such a litigious environment and the legal cards stacked against it, the Commonwealth could become a "gun desert" as the industry bids adieu to the state rather than have to lawyer up against successive waves of lawsuits from anti-gun zealots with deep pockets.
