Just before a planned prohibition on common semi-automatic firearms was set to become law without her signature, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger sent it back to the state legislature.

Spanberger, a Democrat with an anti-gun track record, sent SB 749/HB 217 back to the Virginia General Assembly on Monday with amendments. While her specific changes were not immediately available, a spokesperson for Spanberger's office said the amendments would "provide additional clarity to law enforcement as it relates to the firearms included under this legislation, as well as protect the use of certain semi-automatic shotguns used for hunting."

The controversial bill, approved along party lines by the Democrat-controlled state legislature, would arbitrarily outlaw the future sale of popular firearms such as the AR-15 and magazines capable of holding more than 20 cartridges.

According to a post by House Delegate Wren Williams, a Republican, the amendments that Spanberger sent back to lawmakers "expanded assault firearm definition and magazine cap go considerably further than the original bill." 

From Williams (emphasis his): 

What the original bill did:

Banned the import, sale, manufacture, purchase, or transfer of assault firearms. Class 1 misdemeanor.

What the Governor's substitute does:

Keeps the ban but dramatically expands the definition of "assault firearm." Under the substitute, the term now covers:

• Semi-automatic rifles with a detachable magazine plus any one of the following features: folding stock, pistol grip, thumbhole stock, grenade launcher, flare launcher, silencer, flash suppressor, or forward pistol grip

• Semi-automatic pistols with two or more listed features

• Semi-automatic shotguns

• Belt-fed firearms

The substitute also bans magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds – lower than the 20-round threshold in current law.

New penalty: Anyone convicted under this section is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting any firearm for three years.

As written, the ban stood to face promised immediate legal challenges from the U.S. Justice Department and a host of pro-gun and pro-liberty groups. 

Virginia Lawmakers are set to return to Richmond on April 22 to consider amendments and vetoes made by Spanberger, and a simple majority is needed to reject or accept amendments.

The ban would become effective after July 1, 2026.

7:27 a.m. Updated with comment from Williams.