Virginia Firearm Sales Soar as Democrats Target Lawful Gun Owners

Now, these are the unadjusted NICS numbers, so we're looking at NICS checks performed for things other than firearm transfers. The raw total is still significant though, because it suggests that in addition to buying firearms, more Virginians are applying for concealed carry licenses, which also require the running of a NICS check. 

The National Shooting Sports Foundation adjusts the total number of NICS checks and publishes data that shows only those checks conducted on firearm transfers. These account for sales of both new and used firearms, but they're still a good proxy for the total numiber of firearm sales, and the NSSF numbers confirm that sales in the Old Dominion are through the roof compared to the same time last year. 

According to the NSSF, Virginia was fifth in the nation for handgun sales last month, and was second-highest state for long gun sales, trailing only Texas, which has almost four times the number of residents than the Old Dominion. Virginia was also ranked third for NFA-related NICS checks, behind Texas and Florida. 

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to approve virtually all of the gun control measures passed by the General Assembly this session, and those that she doesn't sign outright will take effect without her signature so long as she doesn't issue a veto. Those bills include a ban on the sale of so-called assault firearms, as well as ammunition magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds, which is the arbitrary limit imposed by Democrats in Richmond. 

Those infringements are set to take effect on July 1, and my guess is sales will remain at least this strong for the next three months as Virginians stock up before many commonly-owned firearms are removed from store shelves. 

Come July, though, the numbers for Virginia are going to decline significantly. FFLs across the state are feeling flush at the moment, but they're going to be pinched soon enough. 

Gun sales tend to go up when folks feel like their rights are threatened, and nationally, it looks like more people feel like their Second Amendment rights are under attack. The national adjusted NICS numbers for March are actually a 1.9% increase compared to March, 2025; good news for the industry even though its far off the numbers that we saw five years ago during the Great Gun Run of 2020-2021. 

NSSF's Mark Oliva says Virginians are "quite literally voting with their wallets on how they view this pending ban." Oliva went on to say:

Virginia’s background checks for all firearms sold increased by 70 percent over the same month last year, to 79,383 background checks which was up from 46,659 this time last year. That follows a 55 percent increase reported in February’s background check figures. We expect this figure to continue to rise, as it is expected Governor Spanberger will ignore the will of the citizens of the Commonwealth to violate her own state constitution and the U.S. Constitution to bar the sale of the most-popular selling centerfire rifle in America today – the Modern Sporting Rifle.”

A good portion of that nationwide increase is because Virginia is experiencing its own sequel to that buying spree at the moment;  not because of pandemic panic or fears of civil unrest, but because Democrat politicians have taken direct aim at their Second Amendment rights. Many of the new laws that will take effect on July 1 will be challenged in court, but what we're seeing right now is a reaction in the court of public opinion. Democrats want to see fewer firearms in the state going forward, but tens of thousands of Virginians are ensuring that there'll be far more "assault firearms" and "large capacity" magazines in the hands of lawful owners when the ban takes effect.