By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—California: Seven bills still being considered; Kentucky: Legislature overrides Governor Andy Beshear’s vetoes on HB78 and HB312; New Hampshire: On April 14, HB1793 was passed by the House Judiciary Committee; Maine: LD1009, a bill that would allow for gun rights restoration, was tabled on April 13; Maryland: The legislature adjourned. New Hampshire: HB1793 was passed by the House Judiciary Committee on April 14; Oklahoma:On April 14, the Senate Public Safety Committee passed HB4125; Rhode Island: Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing and considered bills. All bills were “held for further study;” Virginia: Governor Spanberger signed more bills and amended 3 bills. Legislature returns for veto session April 22.
Legislatures adjourned sine die:
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
State legislatures not in session: Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas.
California: Current bills:
- AB 1943 – Assembly Appropriations Committee
Recasts school firearm‑storage notices into a standardized “Secure Firearm Storage Notification” stressing risks of unsecured guns and California child‑access‑prevention laws, requires website posting and periodic updates, and integrates the notice into drill best‑practices and suicide‑prevention communications to families. - AB 2047 – Assembly Judiciary Committee
Creates a state certification and performance‑standards regime for firearm‑blueprint detection algorithms and “firearm blocking technology” on 3D printers, ultimately banning sale/transfer of most noncompliant printers, authorizing civil actions against sellers, and criminalizing intentional circumvention of the blocking features. - Assembly Public Safety Committee
AB 1006 – Expands concealed‑carry disqualification criteria by treating a spouse as a recorded owner for licensing, adding new disqualifying conduct and offenses (including threats to officials), and creating additional perjury/existing‑crime exposure for inaccurate or incomplete application information. - AB 1810
Tightens DOJ authority over the centralized dealer list by requiring removal and fines for FFLs that fail to meet list requirements or cure cited violations, mandates annual inspections of the ten dealers most associated with crime‑linked guns, and revises inspection fees with capped increases. - AB 1974
Authorizes law‑enforcement agencies to run “voluntary” firearm storage programs allowing temporary surrender of firearms for safekeeping, with database checks and eligibility verification on return, and permits destruction of guns not reclaimed within an agency‑set time; these transfers are exempted from usual dealer and carry‑license transfer rules. - AB 1092 – in Assembly, no further committee (*held under Joint Rule 62(a))
Would have temporarily extended concealed‑carry license durations to three or four years depending on issuance date as a shorter‑term bridge, but was allowed to die procedurally in favor of the broader duration changes in AB 1948. - AB 1948 – in Senate after Assembly passage
Extends concealed‑carry license terms to three years for new licenses and six years for renewals, making conforming amendments but leaving base qualification standards intact. - *“Held under Joint Rule 62(a)” means the bill missed a joint‑rule deadline for committee action and therefore was not moved forward further in that session, effectively killing it absent special revival.
Kentucky: On April 14th, the legislature convened for a veto override session, and successfully overrode Governor Andy Beshear’s vetoes of HB78 and HB312. The Kentucky legislature adjourned.
New Hampshire: HB1793 was passed by the House Judiciary Committee on April 14. This bill elimiates gun free areas on state-funded college and university properties.
Maine: LD1009, a bill that would allow for the restoration of gun rights, was tabled in the Appropriations Committee.
The Maryland legislature adjourned.
Missouri: SB1061, which stops government entities from having contracts with businesses that discriminate against firearm businesses, and SB1128, which prohibits payment processors from using firearm-specific merchant category codes for firearms, ammunition, and components, are eligible for a vote in the full Senate.
Oklahoma: On April 14, the Senate Public Safety Committee passed HB4125, which would create a method to restore gun rights.
Rhode Island: This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to consider many bills. All bills were “held for further study” and remain active. Two of these bills are extraordinarily anti-Second Amendment:
S.2611 An attack on the firearms industry is in contravention of the PLCAA’s protections.
S.2710 Expands last year’s semi-auto acquisition ban to a complete ban on possession. No grandfathering: a new penalty for failure to get rid of any such guns equals a $10,000 fine and a 10-year prison sentence.
Virginia: As I wrote last week, “Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, has officially warned Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger that the DOJ will sue the Commonwealth if she signs a series of gun control measures that the department considers unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. At the center of the DOJ’s objections is SB749, which Dhillon’s letter describes as an attempt to prevent law enforcement from permitting Virginians to make, buy, or sell AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles that are commonly used by civilians.”
What has occurred this past week?
Bills signed by Governor Spanberger
- SB496/HB110 adds further restrictions on keeping firearms in a vehicle for self-defense.
- SB323/HB40 prohibits the building of lawful firearms for personal use by prohibiting the manufacture of firearms without serial numbers. Criminalizes the transfer and possession of an unserialized or plastic firearm. Prohibits the purchase of unfinished frames and receivers before the bill’s effective date.
- SB115 Reciprocity with other states’ gun laws in doubt.
- SB27/HB21 creates sweeping new standards of “responsible conduct” for members of the firearm industry, including manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
- SB272/HB626 Restricts who can carry firearms at public institutions of higher learning.
- HB916 expands the curriculum requirements for Virginia concealed carry permit classes, eliminating National Rifle Association & United States Concealed Carry Association courses from the code.
Bills amended by Governor Spanberger
- SB749/HB217 The omnibus gun and magazine ban bill. Bans certain semi-automatic firearms, including many semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, prohibits the sale of magazines exceeding 15 rounds, and prohibits possession by legal adults under the age of 21. This bill prohibits the future sale and transfer of virtually all modern firearms.
- HB1525 currently prohibits legal adults under 21 from purchasing or possessing certain firearms, and it applies to anyone who already owns them.
- SB173/HB229 prohibits the possession of any weapons in a hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services, and any weapons seized in violation are forfeited.
What Happens Next?
These amended bills have raised questions that require further study of their intended impact. It has been alleged that Spanberger’s amendment was added not to fix anything in the bills, but to delay implementation past the Virginia redistricting election on April 21.
Dave Workman’s article of April 14, stated,”There are some concerns, however, that Spanberger’s substitute actually includes all semi-auto rifles and pistols capable of holding more than 15 rounds within her definition of an ‘assault firearm.’ It would make carrying such firearms, even by someone licensed to carry concealed, a crime.”
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action explains that SB749/HB217 “ban certain semi‑automatic firearms, including many semi‑automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns, prohibit the sale of magazine[s] exceeding 15 rounds, and prohibit possession by legal adults under the age of 21,” and concludes that the bill “is an attempt to redefine and ban firearms that are in common use by law‑abiding citizens, and [to] prohibit the future sale and transfer of virtually all modern firearms.”
In a separate analysis of the 2026 session, NRA‑ILA further describes the package as “a ban on commonly‑owned semi‑automatic firearms and their magazines, restrictions on the Right‑to‑Carry a firearm for self‑defense, restrictions on transporting firearms, storage requirements, and age restrictions on young adults.”
Gun Owners of America has also denounced SB749/HB217 as “semi‑auto firearm and magazine bans” that “target many commonly owned” firearms, and has publicly announced that its legal team is working with the Virginia Citizens Defense League to “prepare legal challenges” to HB217/SB749 and related measures, with lawsuits expected immediately after any such bills are signed. Coverage of GOA and VCDL’s position notes that, even after Governor Spanberger’s last-minute amendment package, “the core ban remains fully intact,” underscoring that these changes do not alter the fundamental scope of the new prohibitions.
TheReload.com has a comprehensive article titled “Virginia Governor Sends Assault Firearms Ban Back to Legislature, Demands Expansion.” April 22 will be the day for the legislature to review Governor Spanberger’s recommendations. In most years, it is a one-day session, but it can last up to a week.
Summarizing the reload.com article, but if you live in VA, you should read the entire piece.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has returned two pending bills, SB749 and HB217, concerning “assault firearms” and magazine bans, to the Democratic-controlled legislature with amendments that would significantly expand their scope. Her main change redefines an “assault firearm” from a semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol with a fixed magazine of over 15 rounds to any firearm “with a magazine capacity in excess of 15 rounds,” thereby linking the definition primarily to the magazine capacity rather than the firearm type. Gun-rights advocates warn this could include most semi-automatic guns if they accept such magazines, and might even make carrying a 15-round gun with a higher-capacity spare magazine illegal.
Spanberger also proposes changes to HB1524, a carry ban for “assault firearms,” which, along with her new definition, would classify it as a class 1 misdemeanor—punishable by up to a year in jail—even for existing permit holders with grandfathered magazines. Her office states the amendments clarify enforcement and safeguard hunting shotguns, while she highlights gun violence as a leading cause of death among children. The legislature will reconvene on April 22 (the day after the constitutional election) to approve or reject her proposed changes; major gun-rights groups and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division have already threatened legal action if any version passes, while Virginia’s Attorney General commits to defending the laws.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, as we mentioned above, has warned that SB749 would effectively ban many common firearms in Virginia and would require state law enforcement agencies to practice unconstitutionally restricting the making, buying, or selling of AR‑15s and other semi-automatic firearms that are in widespread use. DOJ has stated that it “will seek to enjoin any attempt to infringe the right of law‑abiding Virginians to acquire constitutionally protected arms that are possessed by literally tens of millions of Americans.” Lawsuits are on the horizon.
