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Despite Republican promises of legal challenges, Virginia Democrats moved forward with a proposed ban on the future sales of assault weapons like the AR-15 and a slate of other gun laws this year.
General Assembly Democrats passed restrictions on carrying guns in public spaces and at hospitals and colleges, new crimes for having firearms visible in your car, a ban on "ghost" guns that can get by security checkpoints undetected and more.
"This could set up to be a historic General Assembly session if the governor follows through on her promises to sign these bills into law, including ones that have been vetoed the past few years," Mike Fox, volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told VPM News.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger is still reviewing the bills that passed, her office told VPM News on Monday, but pro–gun rights groups and the firearm industry are already prepping their lawsuits.
Mark Oliva is the managing public affairs director of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearm industry trade association. He said the group expects Spanberger to sign the assault-style weapons legislation, HB217 and SB749, because she previously said she would.
"And when she does, we will be standing on the courthouse steps to file a lawsuit immediately," he told VPM News.
The legislation, carried by Del. Dan Helmer (D–Fairfax) and state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D–Fairfax), became one of the most highly contested and debated measures of the 2026 General Assembly session.
It would prohibit the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of semiautomatic centerfire rifles and pistols that can hold more than 15 rounds after July 1, 2026. This ban would also cover ammunition feeding devices, such as magazines, that can carry more than 15 rounds.
The legislation, which former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed last year, doesn't stop people from owning these types of guns and large capacity ammunition feeding devices if they were bought before July 1, 2026. It does prevent people from bringing these firearms into Virginia from other states, with exemptions for law enforcement, military members and their spouses and others.
Republicans argued the effort and other gun measures passed this year are unconstitutional, conflicting with a 2023 US Supreme Court decision, and would harm lawful gun owners.
Democrats said the proposal doesn't make the weapons illegal in Virginia and aims to help prevent gun violence, particularly mass shootings.
"Our communities are not battlefields, they shouldn't be, and this bill is about making sure they aren't," Helmer said on the House of Delegates floor before the final vote on March 9.
"It's not anything about safety," Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R–Gate City) said. "It's not going to save one life. But what it is going to do is make criminals out of law-abiding citizens out here across the commonwealth."
Ultimately, the Democrat-led statehouse chambers approved the legislation along party lines.
Helmer also carried a measure to create standards of responsible conduct for members of the firearm industry and require them to implement safeguards to prevent firearm sales to people who can't legally possess guns. The bill creates a path for Virginia's attorney general, local prosecutors and people to sue for damages over alleged violations.
Oliva argued that this measure violates the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which says people can't file lawsuits against members of the firearm industry such as manufacturers and distributors over illegal use of a firearm. Oliva said his association would sue over the legislation if Spanberger signs it as expected.
Chris Stone, state and local affairs director for the Gun Owners of America, wrote in a recent Fox News op-ed that the group's legal arm is working with the Virginia Citizens Defense League to prepare legal challenges.
Philip Van Cleave, the VCDL's president, told VPM News that the group's lawyers have been "game planning" about potential legal challenges to Democrat-led bills since December 2025. He said he expects lawsuits to be filed immediately after bills are signed into law.
"If it's not day one, it will be within the first few days — 'cause she could make changes to these bills and send them back," Van Cleave said. "We need to see what's signed into law and as soon as we got that, we're free to go."
Fox says he believes the approach taken by Democrats will help ensure any new laws can survive legal challenges. Last year, the US Supreme Court opted not to hear two cases challenging state bans on assault weapons, but justices indicated that a future look could come.
"I'm not a lawyer or a constitutional scholar, but I will say that our lawmakers have said that they've modeled a lot of legislation off of laws from other states, like Maryland, New York, where they've upheld legal scrutiny and challenges in the courts," Fox said.
Virginia Democrats also passed legislation to expand the state's existing restrictions on carrying semi-automatic weapons in public, banning more types of firearms and extending it statewide instead of just in certain localities.
The measure would ban people from carrying semiautomatic centerfire rifles or pistols and other weapons in public areas. Virginia currently only bans loaded assault weapons in public areas in certain places, like the cities of Richmond and Alexandria and Fairfax and Henrico counties.
The Legislature also passed a bill to make it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy a handgun or a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that holds more than 20 rounds of ammunition.
Another bill sent to Spanberger would prevent people convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime on or after July 1, 2026, from owning guns or other types of weapons. And another would create new state crimes for people with "ghost" guns, homemade firearms without serial numbers that can go undetected through security lines and X-ray machines
Democrats passed bills to make it a Class 1 misdemeanor to have a firearm at hospitals that provide mental health or developmental services and college campuses, with exceptions for on-duty law enforcement and others.
Lawmakers also approved a bill to make it a Class 4 misdemeanor — which comes with up to a $250 fine — to leave a handgun unattended in a vehicle unless it's out of plain view and in a locked container such as the glove compartment or center console. Under one bill, people who don't lock up guns that can be accessed by children can be found guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.
"As the mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools and a former federal law enforcement officer who carried a gun every day, Governor Spanberger knows how important it is to make sure kids and families are safe," a Spanberger spokesperson said in a statement.
"The Governor is grateful for the efforts of legislators and advocates to address gun violence in Virginia communities, and she is carefully reviewing all legislation passed by the General Assembly."
Spanberger has until April 13 to either sign, amend or veto legislation. If she doesn't sign a bill, the legislation still becomes law.
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