By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
With Democrats controlling the Virginia Assembly and governor’s office, gun control is a high priority as the so-called “party of gun prohibition” is moving at least seven pieces of legislation, which Reason magazine says will infringe on the right to keep and bear arms.
From all indications, Democrats want to make up for lost time under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a pro-rights Republican who vetoed bills and whose presence in Richmond discouraged the introduction of other measures.
As detailed by Reason, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee has already advanced seven bills.
Senate Bill (S.B.) 749 outlaws so-called “assault firearms.” Under Virginia law, this label applies to as “any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol…equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine which will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock,” as detailed by Reason.
Two more measures—S.B. 272 and S.B. 312—will make things tougher for people with concealed carry permits. Under SB272, it would be prohibited to carry a firearm into any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth, or into “Capitol Square and the surrounding area.”
Meanwhile, SB 312 prohibits carrying “assault firearms” (which include semi-auto centerfire rifles and shotguns, and certain semi-automatic pistols) “on or about his person on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public.”
Then comes S.B. 348, which amounts to a “safe storage” bill which says the following: “Any person who possesses a firearm in a residence where such person knows that a minor or a person who is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm is present shall store such firearm and the ammunition for such firearm in a locked container, compartment, or cabinet that is inaccessible to such minor or prohibited person. A firearm may be stored loaded, provided that (i) such firearm is stored in a biometric storage device and (ii) no minor or prohibited person is an authorized user for the lock of such biometric storage device. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.”
Senate Bill 496 is aimed at handgun owners and makes it a crime to leave a sidearm in the car. Here’s the applicable language: “No person shall knowingly leave a handgun in an unattended vehicle or trunk unless such handgun is placed out of plain view in a locked hard-sided container, including a locked glove compartment or locked center console, permanently affixed to the vehicle’s interior. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.”
Then comes Senate Bill 323, aimed at so-called “ghost guns.” Under this legislation, it would be “unlawful for any person to knowingly manufacture or assemble, cause to be manufactured or assembled, import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, transfer, or possess (i) any plastic firearm or (ii) any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, is not detectable as a firearm by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports, government buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and other locations for security screening.”
Finally, comes S.B. 115, which could, according to the Reason article, “likely reduce Virginia’s reciprocity agreements, which allow people to carry with all out-of-state permits.” If the bill passes, it says “the Office of the Attorney General shall review any agreements for reciprocal recognition that are in place with any other states pursuant to § 18.2-308.014 of the Code of Virginia as of July 1, 2026, to determine whether the requirements and qualifications of those states’ laws are substantially similar to the requirements under Article 6.1 (§ 18.2-307.1 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia to prevent possession of a permit or license by persons who would be denied a permit in the Commonwealth as required by § 18.2-308.014 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, and revoke any reciprocity agreement or recognition of any states that do not meet such requirements or qualifications by December 1, 2026. The Attorney General shall provide a written explanation for any determination that a state’s laws are substantially similar to the requirements of Article 6.1 of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia to prevent possession of such permit or license by persons who would be denied such permit in the Commonwealth.”
