Almost before the governor's ink was dry on a ban of popular semi-auto firearms and standard capacity magazines, the Virginia state government was hit with a lawsuit challenging the prohibition. 

Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a former Everytown volunteer with an anti-gun record in Congress, signed SB 749 into law on Thursday. The controversial bill was muscled through the Virginia General Assembly by a thin Democrat majority bolstered by the fact that one in five of the Democrat majority seats in the state House are held by Moms Demand Action volunteers backed by the organization for office last year.
 

What is 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. 
 

Effective Date

Guns and mags already owned by Virginians before July 1, 2026, would be grandfathered in, at least until future legislation is passed.
 

The Challenge 

Within minutes of Spanberger signing SB 749, the new law was hit with a federal lawsuit in the case of McDonald v. Katz, filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition, National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and two private citizens. Filed in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, the 24-page complaint names Virginia State Police Superintendent, Colonel Jefferey Katz, as well as several Commonwealth Attorneys as defendants. 
 

The Second and Fourteenth Amendments case argued by the defendants is that the state is going after normal firearms in widespread, common circulation. 

As noted in the complaint, "The firearms that Virginia bans as ‘assault firearms’ are, in all respects, ordinary semiautomatic firearms. To the extent they are different from other semiautomatic firearms, their distinguishing features make them safer and easier to use. Regardless of any new category of arms created by state lawmakers, they cannot be banned because they are not dangerous and unusual."

Those backing the suit contend the ban, although it includes grandfathering of guns bought before July, is just an outright prohibition with extra steps. Just add time. 

"Virginia lawmakers lied to their constituents and to themselves when they said these laws weren’t bans,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. "A new sales and transfer ban is a ban that’s just one generation removed. On July 1, anyone turning 18 in Virginia will find out that the rights enjoyed by their predecessors don’t apply to them. These bans are an affront to the Constitution and an insult to the intelligence of Virginians who were fed lies and misrepresentations by their elected officials. We’re excited to fast-track this case to the Supreme Court."

The plaintiffs are seeking the court to block the state from enforcing the ban and declare it violates the right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed under the Constitution.

The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division had previously warned Commonwealth officials that enacting SB 749 would trigger legal action from the federal government as well. 

So stay tuned for developments on that as well.