Virginia Gun Owners Under Attack

iSportsman Staff

Courtesy U.S. LawShield & 2A Institute

California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado—all states where Second Amendment freedoms have unceremoniously died or are withering. You will soon be able to add Virginia to that list. That’s right, the state of Virginia—once a firewall for the Second Amendment—is about to become a case study in what happens when gun owners sit out elections. With Democrats now controlling both of the state’s legislative chambers and the governor’s office, the Old Dominion has become ground zero for an aggressive gun-control agenda.

Under new Gov. Abigail Spanberger, lawmakers are starring in their own version of Fast & Furious as bills have already been filed or are in the process of being filed that masquerade as “gun safety” efforts but are clearly about restricting legal gun ownership.

Here’s just some of what’s on tap:

• Ban the sale and ownership of most semi-auto firearms.
• Require a permit for the purchase of a firearm.
• Install a $500 state tax on suppressors.
• Allow lawsuits against manufacturers and retailers whose products are used in a crime.
• Reciprocity with other states is on the chopping block.
• Home-built firearms, aka “ghost guns” will be criminalized.
• Expect one-gun-a-month and five-day waiting periods to resurface.

Without former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who vetoed as many as 30 anti-gun bills in 2024 and two dozen more in 2025, these bills are all expected to pass and become law, leaving only the courts as a hopeful safety net for gun owners. The situation facing Virginia gun owners is a lesson for gun owners in every state to make sure their voices are heard by their state leaders and to be sure to vote in every election, particularly state and local ones, which can ultimately impact gun rights more than national elections.