For the third time in as many years, the Democrat-controlled state Senate in Virginia has approved a ban on so-called assault weapons, along with several other attacks on our right to keep and bear arms.
SB 1181, authored by Sen. Creigh Deeds (who voted against an "assault weapons" ban as recently as 2020), makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to sell, manufacture, purchase, transfer, or possess almost every semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol, as well as ammunition magazines that can hold more than ten rounds. While the bill exempts those firearms that were lawfully purchased before July 1 of this year, the sweeping prohibition would make some of the most common and popular firearms off-limits going forward.
The gun ban bill is one of a host of anti-2A measures expected to be approved by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly this session.
Democrats are also trying again to pass legislation that would require people to securely store and lock up guns in homes where children are present and that would ban guns and other weapons from hospitals providing mental health and developmental services.
Last year, Youngkin proposed an amendment to the latter measure that would only prohibit people from transferring guns to people receiving mental health treatment. Virginia law prohibits guns at public hospitals, but private institutions can only ban them as a matter of hospital policy, not state law.
Other legislation aims to restrict concealed firearms and ghost guns, which are manufactured without serial numbers and are therefore impossible to trace.
Virginia requires a permit to concealed carry a handgun. State law classifies the concealed carry of a gun or other weapon without a permit as a class 1 misdemeanor, except under specific conditions. If passed, Senate Bill 1329 would remove the exemption that allows people who can lawfully own a gun to conceal carry in a car.
The bill’s patron, Sen. David Marsden, D-Burke, said the legislation would prevent gun thefts from cars. Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg said it would have the opposite effect because people without a conceal carry permit would leave their guns on the dashboard or passenger seat when they exited the vehicle.
Senate Bill 881 would ban the manufacture, sale and possession of guns that when broken down, are not detectable as a firearm by X-ray machines, as well as guns without valid serial numbers.
The Senate also voted to pass a bill that would provide a five-day waiting period for anyone seeking to purchase a gun. The bill’s patron, Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, D-Merrifield, said similar efforts in Florida and California had proven to be effective in reducing gun homicides and suicides. The gunman who shot and killed six people at a Chesapeake Walmart in 2022 purchased the handgun used on the day of the shooting.
“They provide a cooling off period,” Salim said of the waiting period. “This bill gives people that crucial moment to step back, seek help or reconsider.”
Or they might simply choose to take their life by some other means. And waiting periods also impact those who aren't suicidal but are in immediate need of a firearm for persona protection; something Salim and his fellow Democrats apparently don't consider important at all.
I'm fairly confident that Gov. Youngkin will veto any gun control bill that gets to his desk. My concern is that this is an election year, and we may not have a pro-2A governor to swat these bills away in 2026.
A lot of Virginia gun owners have become complacent over the past few years, but now is the time to get engaged and involved. Every seat in the House of Delegates is up for grabs this November, and the gubernatorial race is going to be absolutely crucial to keep our Second Amendment rights intact going forward. Democrats aren't hiding their anti-gun agenda from the voters, but it's up to us to make sure our friends, family, and fellow gun owners understand what's at stake this election cycle.
