Democratic gun control bills pass Virginia General Assembly, face likely opposition from Republican governor

Virginia Democrats advanced a series of gun control bills this legislative session that now head to the governor’s office despite resistance from Republicans and gun advocates. 

Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to veto the restrictions, as he has in previous years. Several of the bills that the Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed this session mirror those Youngkin rejected in 2024. 

“I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms,” Youngkin said in a written statement last year. 

Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave said he and his organization will urge the governor to use his veto power again. 

“They are either unconstitutional or they won’t do anything to make Virginia safer,” Van Cleave said regarding the legislation. 

One of the bills, HB1607, would ban the sale, transfer or manufacture of assault firearms or large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices. 

“As a soldier, I trained to use an M4 and an M16. I carried them in places like Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who introduced HB1607. “Assault weapons sold in Virginia today are manufactured to mimic the functionality of those same weapons, providing for sustained aimed semi-automatic fire, but doing so in the context of our communities and our schools.”

After narrowly passing the House 50-48 on Feb. 4, HB1607 passed the Senate in a 21-15 vote on Feb. 14. 

The Senate also advanced a bill prohibiting assault-style weapons manufactured after July 1, 2025. SB1181 passed the House 50-47 on Feb. 12 with a substitute, which the Senate approved and passed on Feb. 14. 

Similarly, the House voted 50-47 on Feb. 12 to pass SB880, which would ban the carrying of assault firearms in public areas, such as sidewalks and parks. The Senate enrolled SB880 on Monday. 

“A long gun has saved my life more than once, and the fact that I can’t carry it to a range that might be in or near a park, the fact that I can’t walk to the range with it, that’s silly,” said Kristi Horton, an adjunct instructor at George Mason University who opposed SB880 in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. 

In addition to HB1607, SB1181 and SB880, both chambers passed HB1876, HB1977, HB2631, SB1110, SB1134 and SB1182 as of Feb. 14. 

HB1876 and SB1182 propose allowing public universities to ban firearms and explosive materials in their buildings. 

When the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice considered SB1182, committee members cited the mass shooting at the University of Virginia in Nov. 2022. 

“I had a child that was on campus at UVA when they had a shooting there, and still she carries that with her today,” said Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, the Chairman of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.

“It affected everybody in that community,” SB1182’s Chief Patron, Sen. Creigh Deed, D-Charlottesville, said. “That’s what this legislation is aimed to address and prevent.” 

SB1182 was enrolled on Monday after passing the House in a 50-46 vote on Feb. 12. The Senate passed HB1876 21-15 with a substitute, so the bill must return to the House for another vote.

Also enrolled Monday, SB1134 would require gun owners to lock their weapons away if a minor or someone legally prohibited from possessing a firearm is present in the home. In 2023, 49 percent of adult Virginians with firearms at home reported keeping at least one of their guns unlocked and loaded.  

This is the third time Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, has introduced legislation regarding gun storage requirements. Youngkin vetoed her nearly identical bill last year. 

“The first year I carried it, we had a small child who shot his teacher after finding a gun at home, and now this year, here we are again, just in November, a toddler grabbed his Daddy’s gun off the kitchen counter and ended up dying,” Boysko said. “We can do something about this.”

HB2631 imposes a five-day waiting period for firearm purchases, starting when the buyer completes the background check form. The bill passed the senate on Feb. 14 in a 21-15 vote. 

Supporters of the bill believe it could reduce suicide rates, preventing Virginians from impulsively buying and using a gun.Between 2019 and 2023, 59 percent of firearm deaths were suicides, according to Virginia Department of Health data. 

Van Cleave said this extended waiting period for gun purchases could close gun shows in Virginia. 

Companion bills HB1977 and SB1110 also passed both chambers and would ban firearms and certain weapons in hospitals providing mental health or developmental services, making violations a Class 1 misdemeanor.

With Youngkin in his final year as governor, his decisions on this legislation could play a key role in shaping his legacy and political future beyond Virginia.