Governor Abigail Spanberger campaigned on a promise to sign gun control laws, declaring she would “sign legislation into law to make progress on these issues to keep Virginia families safe.” Now, with Democrats controlling the legislature, a barrage of bills is surging forward—and common sense appears to be the first casualty.
These measures won’t disarm criminals. They’ll pile burdens on law-abiding Virginians.
Take Senate Bill 1109: It demands a special permit from the Virginia State Police just to buy a firearm. Forget instant background checks at the dealer—this adds layers of bureaucracy, delays, and government gatekeeping. Critics argue it’s likely unconstitutional, clashing with the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling, which requires gun laws to align with historical traditions from the Founding era through the 19th and early 20th centuries. No such permit system existed then.
Then there’s the so-called “assault weapons” ban in Senate Bill 749 (and its House companion), sponsored by Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-Fairfax), a native of Bangladesh. The bill prohibits the importation, sale, manufacture, purchase, or transfer of “assault firearms” made after July 1, 2026. It grandfathers in existing ones but slams the door on inheritance or family transfers in many cases.
Worse, it criminalizes large-capacity magazines—anything over 10 rounds—making possession a Class 1 misdemeanor. Overnight, thousands of Virginians who legally own standard magazines for hunting, sport shooting, or self-defense could become felons.
The definition of an “assault firearm”? It sweeps in semi-automatic rifles or pistols with features like:
- Folding or telescoping stocks
- Pistol grips
- Threaded barrels (for suppressors or brakes)
- Flash suppressors, muzzle brakes, or compensators
- Or basically any modern sporting rifle resembling an AR-15
This isn’t about military-grade machine guns. Compare it to the iconic M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun—”Ma Deuce”—already heavily restricted under federal law since 1934. As someone who’s fired the M2 at Quantico (hitting targets at 1,000 yards as a rookie) and under night vision, I can tell you: it lacks most of these “scary” features. No collapsible stock, no protruding pistol grip, no grenade launcher. Yet Virginia’s bill targets everyday rifles while ignoring what real heavy weaponry looks like.
These bans aren’t rooted in function—they’re about appearance. Lawmakers seem uninterested in whether the laws survive constitutional scrutiny; they’ll push them through and let courts sort it out years later.
Spanberger ran as a moderate, but she’s poised to sign virtually anything Democrats send her, echoing Biden-era priorities in a blond wig. Gun violence is tragic, but these bills target the compliant, not the criminals. They erode rights without evidence they’ll reduce crime.
Virginians deserve better than feel-good laws that turn neighbors into misdemeanants. This isn’t safety—it’s overreach.
