Where Are the Virginia Gun Control Bills?

Since Monday of this week, Virginia legislators have been able to pre-file legislation for the upcoming 2026 session. In stark contrast to the last time Democrats gained a trifecta in state government, not a single gun control bill has been among the first round of bills released for public review, though we know that an onslaught of anti-gun legislation is coming. 

House Democrats have instead touted a “bold package” of initial filings that they say “focus on protecting fundamental rights and freedoms and strengthening economic security for working families across the Commonwealth,” measures like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, establishing a right to obtain contraception, and a proposed constitutional amendment enshrining same-sex marriage into the state’s framework of government. 

It appears that Old Dominion Democrats have learned a lesson from 2019, when then-Gov. Ralph Northam made it clear as soon as the elections were over that a semi-auto ban and prohibitions on “large capacity” magazines were among his top priorities for the 2020 session. That, in turn, sparked a Second Amendment Sanctuary movement that swept across Virginia like a wildfire. By mid-November, the Second Amendment Sanctuary groundswell was already underway.  

Six years ago today I wrote about two counties in Virginia that had adopted their own “sanctuary” resolutions, and welcomed Pittsylvania County Supervisor Ronald Scearce to the Bearing Arms’ Cam & Company podcast to talk about his resolution that was unanimously approved in front of a crowd of residents. That night I attended the Amelia County Board of Supervisors meeting… or tried to, anyway. 

Even though no vote was being taken because no resolution had been introduced at that point, I was pretty sure there’d be a few gun owners in the audience who were there to ask supervisors to declare the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary. Instead, I found this:

The first inkling I had that more than a few folks had shown up came on my drive into town. Amelia Courthouse, which is the county seat, is a pretty sleepy little town where the businesses on the courthouse square shut down at 5 p.m. Yet as I approached the small downtown area, I noticed that cars were parked all along the street. When I actually was able to see the courthouse, I was stunned to see hundreds of residents of Amelia County gathered outside the courthouse where the supervisors meeting was already taking place.

I had to park several blocks away, and by the time I arrived, Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League was finishing a few spontaneous remarks to the crowd about the importance of continuing the momentum by showing up at the capitol for Lobby Day in January. After he finished speaking, I was able to make my way through the crowd to ask him what he thought about the huge turnout, which packed the meeting room inside the courthouse building and spilled out onto the front steps and lawn.

“It’s been unreal,” he responded. “From my point of view, I’ve never seen anything like this. We have so much information coming in, gun owners everywhere contacting us. I can’t get my emails below 1,200 because now matter how many I answer three times as many come in. But this is good. It’s great to see gun owners awake in so many numbers.”

The Second Amendment Sanctuary movement eventually grew to encompass about 100 Virginia counties and independent cities, while tens of thousands of gun owners packed the streets of downtown Richmond for the VCDL’s Lobby Day rally in early January. That opposition led to the demise of Northam’s gun and magazine ban, though Democrats still adopted about a half-dozen other gun control bills that session. 

This time around Democrats are keeping their gun control plans under wraps, working behind the scenes to draft legislation while publicly stating they “want to respect people’s constitutional rights” while promoting public safety. The quiet approach has been paying off; so far, we’ve seen no real resurgence of the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement, though that will likely change once Democrats unveil their gun control plans. 

Based on the gun control bills that Democrats passed over the past two years (that were vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin), we know that “assault weapon” and “large capacity” magazine bans will be included in this year’s legislative package. I’m expecting to see waiting period bills, legislation expanding the number of “gun-free zones” and repealing the state’s firearm preemption law, and new storage mandates for gun owners. 

Gun control activists, though, want even more. 

Lori Haas, advocacy manager for the at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, said during public comment that while she thinks the Virginia General Assembly has done a lot to enact policy to reduce injury and death, more could be done to protect Virginians. Haas specifically noted Connecticut’s firearm purchaser licensing laws, which require prospective firearm purchasers to first obtain a license.

A permit-to-purchase law would create a new maze of red-tape for would-be gun owners to navigate, as well as essentially impose a waiting period of 30 days or more while law enforcement processes permit applications. That too is the kind of legislation that could spark another Second Amendment Sanctuary movement, though Haas’s comments have largely flown under the radar. 

Virginia gun owners should not be lulled into a false sense of security just because the Democrats’ gun control plans haven’t been publicly unveiled. We should be talking to our county supervisors, sheriffs, and Commonwealth’s Attorneys and urging them to pledge not to enforce any laws that would infringe on our Second Amendment rights. Democrat lawmakers have learned a lesson from six years ago and are stealthily approaching the gun control issue this time around, but our grassroots opposition can’t wait until our opponents are ready to unleash their anti-gun agenda. We need to be proactive now and begin to rally opposition to the infringements looming over the horizon. 

Editor’s Note: Second Amendment advocates are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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